Dreams and Disasters
by 2theSky
Summary: Hmm... so you're jumping between worlds, involved in a digital revolution, friends with the president, and you're already being watched by the media. How many secrets can you possibly have? (Embers series- Book Three)
1. Prologue

(Skigh's POV)

Orange circuits.

Red circuits.

In my room.

And we were not on the Grid. Yeah, that just made this worse.

McKian, already thinking ahead as always, pushed Knight's dark chocolate colored arm from behind mine on the door and Knight raised his hands in mock surrender, stepping away from the doorway so that we could go see if I was right.

But, good God, I was hoping I was wrong.

Felt around on the cool metal wall and flipped the midnight black light switch. My chest constricted.

Nope. Not wrong.

McKian and I knelt down on the floor, Mac's breath becoming erratic and he was definitely scared that his secret would get out. It hadn't been easy hiding him from the world this long; telling everyone, "hey, McKian Karson's really a dude from inside a computer world designed by a guy who went missing nearly thirty years ago" was not going to go over even remotely well.

Knight stood over us as he walked in, glancing over his shoulder to make sure my nosy brother (yeah, Alex really needed to tone down the protection thing a little- I guess it's good that he cared about me though) didn't walk in on this whole thing. Knight gaped, his hazel-brown eyes nearly popping out of his head. "Whoa… who's the chick? And why is she in here?"

Neither of us answered. Both of us were trying to figure out just how in both worlds commander Paige had wound up HERE.

Mac spoke first, not as tongue-tied as me. "I think there was a glitch in the mainframe that links us with the Grid…" He gently rolled Paige off her back and onto her side, disconnecting her disc and laid her back down. She groaned as twisted. "Good thing it wasn't CLU who came through."

Nodded in agreement. "Yeah. The world already has enough blasted tyrants."

Knight knelt beside us, running his hands through Paige's hair. "This hair style's new, " he observed. His dark hands matched her hand color.

Mac stared at him, looking more shocked with what Knight was doing than with the fact that one of the main programs under CLU was in our world. And she could wake up any time.

Paige looked peaceful while she was out cold, but McKian and I were far from it; I could feel my heart pound against my rib cage, ready to explode, as I prayed for no interruptions, even if it was Alan. Alan couldn't help this time- he had been able to help a lot with McKian, but…

but him showing up if Paige's deep brown eyes fluttered open was not going to help, mainly because he looked like an older Tron.

McKian tapped his watch and grinned. "YES! THANK GOD!"

"What?" I asked, leaning on his shoulder to see his watch; I quickly pushed him and myself away from Paige's face and arm as she turned and moaned. "And make it quick! This could end not so well."

Mac was still smiling. "The watch was repaired when she came through. We can go back to the Grid, the same way as before, but now if I need to, I can go alone… not that I want to." His smile turned into a smirk and he wrapped his massive pale arm around me, his tattoos matching my black t-shirt and shorts. "So, how about we get her back to the Grid without anyone noticing?"

I bit my lip. This. Was. Not. Going. To. Be. Remotely. Easy.

…

"You ready?"

I nodded, glancing at Paige as she twisted on my bed, still unconscious. But saying I was ready to transport a commander under a dictator nutcase back to her oh-so-loving home in a ship of doom, gloom and death?

Yeah, maybe I exaggerated there… but it was necessary.

No one could find out.

I smiled at Mac, wrapping my one small, scarred hand around his pale one; my other snaked around Paige's limp and soft one. I looked up into his eyes and laughed softly as the green embers kindled little sparks. He laughed too, grinning his sweet, innocent grin. He bent down and his nearly white lips pressed against mine. After doing this to get on and off the Grid so many times, I still wasn't used to the feeling that raced through me.

Warmth.

Love.

Hope.

I couldn't find a name for it.

Felt his long arm snake around my back and pull my small body against his. The palm of his hand pressed harder against my back, and his nose brushed against mine. How could every program see him as a threat, as someone to belittle and stomp on like the dirt under their feet? Mac was so much more than that- he had solid morals and ideas and theories- and they needed to see that.

And then I felt the flash as the temperature changed; I adjusted my grip on Paige and prayed that this would work.

…

"Please tell me he's-"

"WHAT IS SHE DOING IN HERE?!"

I rolled my eyes, hearing Tron's harsh tone bounce off the massive windows that allowed the city to be seen clearly, the lights out in the distance seeming to flicker as he mounted the steps up to the platform. "And he's here."

"And we're dead," Mac's whisper brushed against my ear as we gently laid Paige on the floor.

Tron's eyes narrowed, the black Tron suit twisting as he crossed his arms; yeah, probably not the best idea to tick off the hero of the Grid. "Why is she here?" he rasped again. I shivered, the flashbacks from my past (not something I feel like dusting the cobwebs off of at the moment and dragging out of the farthest corner of my mind to share… again) started flashing before my eyes in broken pieces.

"We had no other choice." Mac knelt by her and waved his hand in front of her face. "She wound up in our world accidentally."

Tron tilted his head. "Did she see anything? Or wake up?"

I shook my head. "No, she wasn't there long enough to." Brushed some hair out of her closed eyes and sighed. "Now, we just need to put her somewhere aside from here, before she wakes up."

I jumped as footsteps echoed and I saw the Renegade climbing up the steps-

his helmet sliding off.

"Don't take the mask off!" I hissed, trying to be relatively quiet, considering that Paige was only inches away.

Beck stopped midstep, the white suit and brilliant white lights reflecting off the floor as his mask, now half gone, slid back over his face. "What happened?"

"Long story." Mac grimaced as Paige mumbled something and turned her head, still unconscious. "Right now, we just need to get her out of here, before we're all dead!"

Tron's mask slipped over his face and he, not too gently either, lifted Paige. "Come on. Let's get this over with."

* * *

_-okay, so as you can see, the next part of the story is up. thanks for all the reviews on the last one- they really meant a lot to me :)  
_

_everyone have an awesome day! God bless! :)_


	2. Chapter 1

**PART ONE: START SOMEWHERE  
**

**"That's got me thinkin' that we're never gonna get it right. I wanna straighten this before the sun goes down tonight. If I could only fight the bitterness I feel inside- this thing is eatin' me alive… " -TobyMac**

* * *

(Mac's POV)

So, Tron picked where to put the commander so she wouldn't suspect anything.

And, here's hoping, that she hadn't been aware enough to have any memories on her disc from the User World.

But where he picked? I wasn't the only one questioning his choice…

…

"Okay, this is extreme, Tron!"

Skigh, her mask hiding her face and her suit now completely black, her hands and fingers covered completely, and four glowing white lines- one on each arm and leg, another change from the whole incident just a couple days ago, was most likely glaring as she said, "I'm with the Renegade." She avoided saying his name, in case Paige was alert. "This is not the place."

"She's the enemy," Tron snapped, laying her on the ground.

Now I was a little aggravated. "She'd probably leave the Occupation if she knew the truth."

"What?"

Skigh laughed. "Man, there's somethings that computer of yours just doesn't pick up on."

Beck shook his head. "We shouldn't leave her here."

Tron stepped back. "Yes, we should. CLU won't look out here."

True, but there were about a million other places he wouldn't look either.

So, starting to wonder just how mad Tron was, and then deciding I'd rather not know, we walked back to Tron's lair.

* * *

"I don't think I've ever seen Tron that ticked off!" Skigh laughed as she opened a big bag of green grapes and another big bag of purple ones, the bags reflecting off the counter.

Little blue and black Jump Drive had managed to get his tiny body up onto the counter and was slipping over to us, his glowing feet and eyes shining as he made his way.

I shrugged and sat one of the stools at the island, all the grey and black stone and wood in the kitchen. "Well, he was pretty mad about Dyson."

"That's true," Skigh said, turning on the sink. The loud noise the water made at that pressure made her voice very quiet. "But having Paige at his hide out?"

I grinned. "Wonder what Beck was thinking."

"Probably that we'd injured her or lost it." Skigh washed off the grapes over and over, keeping her hand over them to try to stop them from spilling. "But at least she's gone and doesn't remember any of it."

"We hope."

"Pessimist," Skigh said. She sat the wet bowl of grapes in front of me and I picked up one and rolled it between my fingers, wondering how each one could be different. The Creator of the Users must have really wanted everything to be perfect.

"I am not a ... what did you call me?"

Skigh sat next to me. "A pessimist. You focus on the bad and negative stuff in life."

"I don't do that!" I smiled. "Besides, doing that sounds like it would take cyc- years off your life." I winced and hung my head. I was slipping up more and more lately.

Skigh patted my shoulder. "Hey, you need to stop worrying. You've been doing fine."

I sighed and picked up a purple grape, the water still dripping off it. It had been a week since the whole thing with Paige winding up in Skigh's room. And I hadn't slept much since. I was on edge, waiting for Dyson or CLU to end up in the auditorium somewhere. I had been trying what that little blue book of Skigh's had said, talking to the Creator of the Users about my problems (I didn't know what His official name was, considering he had so many names.) And, since I didn't have any real parents, He was my Father... I'm pretty sure I have that much right. He was the only one who happened to care about me, before meeting Skigh that is. And, since He seemed to be the ultimate Creator of everything, even Flynn, and after reading the stuff He'd done in that little blue book, I figured I owed Him a lot.

I just wasn't sure how much... but I figured my life would be a good idea. I was trying to stick to the stuff He said to do or not to do, and I found out that I had been doing most of it already. But I wanted to do more, to have a definite purpose.

"You look tired." Skigh wrapped her tiny arm over my shoulders and leaned on me. I smiled. Whenever I was around her or hugged her, I always felt good. I loved her so much, not because she was very pretty, but because she had given me a chance.

I owed her a lot, too, but she didn't seem to think so.

I swallowed, trying not to yawn. "I'm fine." I kissed the top of her head and felt that good feeling again that I always felt when I held her or kissed her. It just felt right. It felt like it was what was supposed to happen.

Skigh laughed. "I can tell you're tired."

I sighed, still smiling and still not understanding how she could tell. "Fine. I'm a little tired." I grabbed a couple more grapes and ate them. They were very sweet, and they were still a little scary to me. The first time I saw them, I thought they were rocks. Watching Skigh bite one... that had really scared me.

For once, we were alone. No Knight, who was out getting a ton of Chinese take out. No Alex, who was in Japan with Griffyn on another vacation. No Alan, who I didn't really mind being around. He was nice.

Skigh's head rested on my shoulder and I held her close to me, happy for the moment.

This was right.

* * *

"The late May temperatures are rising steadily this Satu-"

I pushed the blue button on the remote, feeling it glow under my finger as the woman in hot pink of the television screen vanished and was replaced with a man in a mud colored tank top and shorts. I never understood the television completely, or much at all, but as soon as the long haired, very tan skinned man opened his mouth, I didn't hear his voice. I heard a loud beeping noise that scared me and I pushed the blue button again.

It was only a few minutes after midnight, and Knight was snoring. So I got up and walked out here, into the living room. For the first time I noticed how every wall was grey metal and the floors were either metal or concrete. And them I noticed how every thing we had with us was colored, making the place look like it was alive, not dull and dead like the grey and black.

Actually, with the lights we'd put all over the auditorium and where we lived under the stage made the whole place look like the Grid. Even the outside of the building, grey and black with red stripes, had some Grid lights.

And we'd been shooting a lot more, almost always in front of an audience. We had our share of outtakes, and they were always something to laugh at, whether it was Jump Drive or RAM hopping on the lap of some innocent person in the audience, or me or Skigh messing up a word, or Knight walking out of the sound booth and tripping, or anything else.

I sighed and changed the channel again.

And I didn't push the button for a while.

I stared in shock at the black haired guy in the suit as he adjusted his mic, the breaking news alert flashing on the bottom of the screen. "As you've probably heard by now, the REVOLUTION building has finally been cleared of the debris, and a body."

No... I fell off the couch and quickly laid down on it so I wouldn't fall off again.

The man continued talking. "The construction workers have found the body of a former member of the ENCOM board. According to reports, he vanished without a trace, not answering calls, or threatening employees as we have been speaking with people in the company. The police have ruled that his death was accidental, that he died in the explosion of one of the highest and most adored buildings in this area, also having huge employment numbers. Because of security cameras being down that day, it is almost certain that this man died of falling as the building exploded around him."

Well, he did die by falling, because he refused to let us pull him up so he wouldn't fall eight floors to his death. It was his own stupidity that caused his death, and Skigh was still having nightmares from it.

"Ian Christopher and Alex Ryker, former co-owners of the building and the massive company have commented on this saying that they had no idea that he was in the building whatsoever. After checking their old records, Griffyn Ryker, Alex's wife, and Alan Bradley from ENCOM have confirmed that there was no scheduled meeting between him and any REVOLUTION employees. Skigh Ryker and McKian Karson have not been notified, mainly because Ian and Alan have agreed that they suffered tremendously already from the explosion. That day in January, Skigh forced McKian out of the building after they brought two injured employees out the doors of the exploding building." The man kept talking, so I kept listening. "Skigh was trapped inside the building, because seconds after getting McKian out, the final bomb brought down the structure of the building. McKian Karson ignored security, somehow managing to avoid them as he ran into the remains of REVOLUTION and found her."

I rolled onto my side and took a deep, and shaky, breath. This wasn't looking so good.

The reporter pressed the little black device on the side of his ear and nodded. "Alex Ryker is on the phone right now, and he has allowed his conversation with us to be aired live."

The screen turned blue and Alex's name flashed across the screen. I turned the television off and sighed.

Skigh needed to sleep now, because once she woke up, it would be another restless week… or month.


	3. Chapter 2

(Skigh's POV)

"NO!"

I sat up, struggling to get any breath at all. Sweat rolled down my forehead and mixed with the tears that stung my eyes. Everything was blurry.

I'd had that nightmare again.

It had been three weeks since finding out about Dimwit's body being found. I'd almost conquered the stream of horrors that tormented me in my sleep.

Kept seeing him fall.

Kept hearing him scream.

Kept seeing him die.

The only night it hadn't decided to invade my dreams was on Mac's "first" birthday. That had been one night of relief.

I pressed my face into my hands, wondering how badly this had hurt McKian. I was sick of waking him up with my screaming and shouting and crying and God only knows what else I did.

I was ashamed of it.

I had failed in trying to save someone's life.

I. Had. FAILED.

"Don't let him come in, don't let him come in, don't let h-him c-c-come i-" I started crying even harder, not able to breathe much, if any, at all.

And I'd failed Mac, the one guy who completely understood me. I owed him so much for how many times he'd comforted me. It wasn't fair to him; it just wasn't.

"Skigh?"

Good God, no… no…. NO!

I felt more tears pour down my face as McKian grabbed me and held me against his chest. The heat in the room seemed to turn to fire, my green shorts and light pink tank top leaving a lot of my skin exposed to the June heat. I felt McKian's had run through my long hair; I could feel him gently rubbing the orange stripe and the blue one on the opposite side of my head, his long fingers slowly finding their way through the rest of the long blond- silver mess. Him, eighteen, and me, seventeen until August…

good thing dear big brother Alex wasn't here.

"Relax. It's okay," Mac whispered, his hands rubbing the massive web of tangled scars on my arm and hitting the larger ones behind the straps of my shirt on my back; his other hand brushed against the few at the edge of my shorts and I nestled my face into his warm chest, the smell of bananas strong on his shirt. "It's gonna be okay."

His lips felt cool as they pressed against my forehead, once, twice, then against my cheek, removing some of the salty tears that had flowed down them in torrents.

McKian sighed. Everything was so blurry; all I could make out was that Mac had on what looked like blue boxers and a red shirt. "You're gonna be okay, Skigh."

I finally stopped crying and sniffed, trying to breathe normally; I was hoping my asthma wouldn't kick in; my inhaler wasn't my best option at the moment, and I didn't feel like turning to a hard piece of plastic with disgusting medicine inside it to make me feel better. "Sorry, Mac," I managed to get out before wheezing.

"Stop saying that," he said soothingly, brushing my hair out of my eyes. "I don't mind. I love you, and I want to make sure you're alright."

I shivered, feeling that warm, fuzzy feeling come back. "I love you too," I mumbled, wishing my voice had been louder. I wasn't even sure if he'd heard.

But he pressed me closer to him and I feebly wrapped my arms around his neck and looked up into his glowing green eyes; my brown eyes were glowing as well; I saw the golden glow in the tears ready to fall from his eyes.

Maybe I hadn't failed… right?

McKian smiled. "See? You're gonna be fine." He grinned. "I wish I could kiss you right now, but I don't think disturbing Tron right now would be a good idea."

And he was right. The last time we'd been there, Beck had left for a top secret mission… and still wasn't back. RAM and J. D., being two cute and lovable, and adventurous bunnies, had stayed glued to his black suit and were hypnotized by the glowing lights. Jump Drive had even tried pressing his tiny pink tongue against the "T" on his chest, and that had not gone over well.

I smiled back. "I must look pretty bad."

"You look pretty, not bad." Mac rubbed my ungloved hand, the scars there exposed as well. "Now…" as my breathing got worse, I watched him grab my inhaler off one of the colorful pieces of furniture in my room that made the dark walls come to life. "I think you might need this."

My fingers shook as I took the inhaler from him and I smirked. "I hate having health problems." Seriously? I got slammed with not only violent flashbacks, but also insomnia, dyslexia (the source of a lot of my problems in school and why I got picked on a lot- wait, picked on is a severe understatement) and various other problems… oh, and severe asthma.

But at the moment, As I slowly shook the inhaler before removing the tiny cap and pressing the hard plastic into my mouth, I felt pretty good, and very safe, in McKian's arms.

Now we just had to keep tabs on our other secrets.

…

"Welcome to another Renegades episode, everybody!"

The auditorium erupted with applause; we had half of the two thousand seats filled, and the donations were coming in faster and faster. McKian was sitting on the light cycle he'd rezzed up on the one side of the stage, drumming his fingers on the seat, the blue screen of his wonder watch illuminated and softly pulsing. He smirked. "Another? Gee, how many is this?"

I swung my legs and moved closer to the edge of the desk; all the lights made the inside of the auditorium look like it was sucked out of the Grid and placed here.

Perfect.

"I've lost count. But we're still giving advice, keeping track of the world, answering your questions, fighting the good fight, and-" Jump Drive came hopping across the floor. "-watching two bunnies that create chaos."

The audience laughed as McKian scooped up J. D. and he chuckled as RAM followed her friend, her white body and purple and pink hair and lights a blur as she jumped into Mac's arms. "Okay, no french fries, you two." He sat them on the desk and they started pressing their paws against the pure transparent slab with blue lights that was half of the super computer; the other half was in our living room down stairs. Thankfully, it was turned off up here, or the bunnies could've blown Mac's secret with their innocent screen-pressing.

"So, since president Nathan Rose has everything under control," Mac commented, sitting on the coal colored desk beside me, "and the world is actually at ease for once- we're only posting the news on the site, we're answering your questions today!"

Everyone cheered. This show was actually just more of teaching people how to stand up for what they believe in, and many people, over two million at the moment, were part of the Renegade force on our website. We had twenty-six episodes on the site, our Twitter feed, and pictures and quotes that inspired our fellow "Renegades" in the good fight. We weren't focusing on politics; we were focusing on helping others, supporting charities, posting world news on the site, and showing everyone that they could make a difference.

This was, well, awesome.

"Okay, who's first?" I asked, smiling as half the people jumped from their seats, screamed, or both. "Uh, you in the blue and grey striped shirt. What's your name?"

A kid about twelve years old stood up, his red hair falling in his eyes. "Uh, I'm Brett."

Mac picked up Jump Drive and held him in his massive hands. "Hi, Brett. Whatcha gonna ask us?" He was definitely doing a lot better with speaking.

"Where'd all the lights come from?" he asked, the world's biggest smile on his face.

I smiled back as he sat down and exchanged a quick glance with McKian. "Sorry, that source has opted to remain a secret."

"Okay!" Little Brett just smiled, the metal braces on his teeth gleaming.

"Who's next?" I adjusted my microphone, fixing it behind my ear and brushing my hair out of the way. "The guy in the back with the NRA hat." A guy stood up and pointed at himself, mouthing his question as to if I meant him. I nodded. "Where're you from? And you have a name, right?"

The man of about thirty-five chuckled, his round stomach jiggling. "I'm from Lancaster and yes, I do have a name. Derek."

McKian waved at him, three of his fingers in the air. "Well, Derek, what's your question?"

"Do you support the NRA?"

Nodded. "Yes, we do. But a few small restrictions that would prevent criminals from getting guns would be good. After all, guns don't kill people-"

"-people kill people," Mac and I finished the sentence in sync; people started clapping and I jumped in surprise, not only from that, but also from RAM sprawling out on my lap. "Okay, someone here in the front row looks like they have a question!" I grinned at a seven year old with dark skin and puffy pigtails. "Hi, sweetie!"

The girl jumped up from her seat. "Hello!"

"Where are you from?" Mac inquired, also taking a second to adjust his mic as the cameras around us shifted position; yeah, let two tech experts set up the cameras and then they're practically floating around on their own.

"South Carolina." The way she said it with her two front teeth missing sounded like "Sowth Carowina." She was so cute, the bright lights reflecting in her nearly black eyes.

"You have a question for us?" I asked, rubbing RAM"S little velvet ears.

"Can I petsa bunny?"

I nodded and motioned for her to come up the stairs and onto the stage. The little girl's dark hands were shaking as she slowly pressed her fingertips against RAM's furry head. She smiled and calmed down instantly. "So cute!"

As I cautiously handed her RAM and watched her eyes dance, I noticed a white flash in the back of the auditorium. Maybe it was just someone walking out to take a phone call, or a glitch in the lights, or…

I looked back down at the little girl and shrugged. It was probably nothing. I was probably just paranoid after the whole incident last month with the discovery of Dimwit's body.

Yeah, just paranoid.

* * *

_-thanks for the reviews so far, guys! they mean a lot! :)_


	4. Chapter 3

(Skigh's POV)

The Renegade holding a rabbit…

that was unexpected.

I smiled as Beck, his mask gone, stood in Tron's lair, with Jump Drive sprawled out… on his head. He stared up at the rabbit and laughed. "Okay, how did you get up there?"

McKian placed RAM in the big blue glowing fence of a cage that Tron had created to keep the bunnies from getting under foot, or mainly, in his way. "Okay, when Tron gets back we better put these two back where they belong."

"In Tron's mind, that's back in your world," Beck joked, catching J. D. as he hopped from his head. "That last mission was really rough. Be glad you two weren't there."

"Why?" I punched myself in the knee, wishing the word hadn't come tumbling out of my mouth just yet. Yeah, the whole paranoia thing had practically fried my brain, whatever parts of it weren't bursting at the seams with stuff an amnesiac would be thrilled to forget ever happened.

Beck shrugged, the white suit seeming to glow more than ever. "Let's just say I understand why Tron and Dyson don't get along well… even if he never talks about it too much." He stared at J. D. "Seriously? You just hop around and worry about nothing. And you get to annoy Tron without him putting you through the wringer. Why are you so lucky?"

McKian snorted and covered his smirk with his pale hand, the watch screen dull grey for once. "Lucky? You should see-"

"Cyrus is missing."

Not good.

Tron's black mask retracted, the few lights on his suit transforming into the dark Tron suit we were a little less accustomed to. "He vanished off scanners."

I sighed. First Dimwit and now this.

Beck put J. D. in the cage with his little pink and purple friend and crossed his arms, the lights twinkling as they touched. "So, now what?"

"He's not on the Grid, at least not that I can see." Tron frowned. "You two must have a lot of secrets to keep in the User world."

"More than you'd believe," I muttered, slurring it and gritting my teeth. It seemed like our secrets were coming unraveled, one by one; if they all did, we were dead.

So. Stinking. Blasted. DEAD.

Tron, if he'd heard that little remark, didn't acknowledge it. Instead he started pulling up dozens of windows; some information; some videos and surveillance; some just streams of code that I couldn't even begin to decipher, let alone wrap my mind around. "He's gone. I can't locate him."

McKian suddenly shivered, his circuits flickering. "Mac?" Standing just feet away, I quickly grabbed his arm and looked into his eyes. They were almost grey, not the warm, inviting green they usually were. He wasn't even looking back at me. "McKian?"

Beck came over as well and waved his hand in front of Mac's eyes. McKian jumped, still a little shaky, and stared at us. "What happened?"

"You zoned out… or crashed, or froze, or something." I glanced at Beck, hoping that one of those terms was right; McKian still had quite a bit to learn about our world, and I still had a lot to learn about the Grid. "You okay?"

Mac nodded. "Maybe we should get back and look at this from a better angle."

"What do you mean?" Either Tron was just really aggravated, or he was a little ticked that Mac thought we could see more of the action on the Grid.

Well, McKian wasn't wrong; we could; so…

"He's right."

I sighed. We'd been running continuous scans to check the entire Grid to see if it still contained Cyrus.

Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be found.

So, we had three theories.

One- Cyrus got derezzed.

Two- Cyrus had figured out how to mask his code from our scanners and every other scanner. (That was likely.)

Three- He'd somehow managed to get into our world.

And McKian and I were both hoping and praying it wasn't the third one.

* * *

Mac ran his hands through his hair; I took notice of how long it had gotten since I'd last noticed the same thing. And his hair, now covering his ears and almost covering his neck, was also turning more blue, looking almost like it did on the Grid. "I can't believe…" He fell down on the floor, laying stiff as a board, his hands covering his face as his breathing became very raspy. "It seems like everything is…"

"Coming undone," I finished, sitting next to him- not flopping to the hard floor like he had, but still hitting it kinda hard- and rubbed his arm. Then managed to clasp his hand in mine. "I know."

"And it's my fault." McKian sighed, then coughed, finally releasing his death grip on his face. Tears were rolling down his cheeks, one right after the other, turning his white skin bright red. Some of the salty tears found their way into his mouth and he was trying to swallow, failing when the salty drops tried to go down his throat. "I-I never s-should've b-been h-here…" He pressed his free palm against his eyes and shook more.

Maybe we needed a break from this. I mean, we were practically involved in TWO uprisings. Only one was much less violent and more enjoyable. Seriously, I think that just about anything beats dealing with CLU. Well, maybe some things don't… but at the moment, I was drawing a major blank.

Time to take some time off.

* * *

"Need for Speed… interesting."

I laughed as McKian opened the case and poked the disc inside. "What's an Xbox?"

I grinned. This was going to be fun.

…

"Where are we?"

McKian, still cradling the green Xbox case, his fingers sliding up under the case around it; his other hand traced the edges of the police car on the cover.

So, after discovering another room up over the auditorium that could only be reached if you weren't afraid of heights, or falling to your death, Knight had decided to set up his prized possession, his Xbox, in this little cubicle.

A comfy cubicle, but anyone claustrophobic might have wanted to avoid it with their life.

I kept one foot on the catwalk eighty feet above the stage, the other on the ledge with the door; a huge hole hung between the two, but part of the older steel looked like it had been repaired recently; maybe Knight had decided to try to fix it a little.

Tapped the old metal door with my foot. It creaked open and I felt the tiny ledge shift as McKian and I stepped into the room.

A bare lightbulb hung from the ceiling, a tiny strand of a twitch dangling from it as well. The floor was covered in blankets, lots of them, but parts of the cold, grating steel still peeked through. Small windows on the one side illuminated the room, revealing a big screen that filled half the room.

Mac smirked as I made eye contact with him. He smiled and waved around the game. "So, now what?"

…

**"This world is, ra, ra, in a bad romance, going, ga, ga. You know we're gettin' played by the love game, and hypnotized by all the fame…"**

We'd been playing for a while, the constant stream of police sirens making the game all the more awesome.

As I started loading another race- wait, no, hot pursuit- Mac kept drumming his fingers on the case that held the Xbox game and tilted his head, thinking. "What does this mean?" He showed me the case and pointed to the little black and white rating box.

"It just shows what age group it's recommended for," I explained. Yeah, so I'd kinda sorta borrowed Knight's game. But this one, out of all his games (all Need for Speed) seemed like something Mac would like. Besides… maybe him trying to outrun cops would be fun. And I didn't want him getting traumatized by anything.

**"No, we won't let them take control- we won't go with the flow. We've got to stand together…"**

The race loaded and I smirked. Yeah sure, it was just a video game.

But I happen to love video games. Especially when I have stuff to outrun cops with… now if I could avoid the blasted spike strips…

**"It's all plastic and I can't be a fake. It's all static, every word that they say. We won't let them take control…"**

Mac laughed as the game glitched and my Aston Martin flipped over for no reason, laying on a spike strip and causing it to spin more. "That was definitely interesting," he commented, grabbing the long remote and turning down the volume on the music as another police siren, not from the video game this time, echoed. "Man, what's up with all the police today?"

Shrugged and hit the "A" button, restarting the race. "I don't know. This area doesn't have that high of a crime rate… does it?"

"You do realize who you're asking? For three months, I didn't even know what the police were!"

I giggled. "What? The stupid sirens didn't tip you off?"

Mac blushed. "Hey, the security on the Grid doesn't use sirens. They just run their disc through you and call it a day… or cycle… or whatever!"

We both laughed and I fell back on the pile of blankets, landing against McKian's chest. He laughed more. "You realize your car's ready to fall to bits?"

**"Burn like a fire- shine like a diamond. See a flash when I smile brighter than Kanye's…"**

I laughed as a battered police car, what looked like a Bugatti that had gone through a war zone, slammed it's front end into the side of my Aston Martin, the silver doors crumpling and the car flipping. Red and blue flashed on the screen and "BUSTED" zoomed in and out of focus, the hot pursuit over. I sighed. "I think we should get out of here before Knight notices we were up here." With a mini fridge tucked behind the massive TV, and about ten bazillion bags of chips, it looked like Knight was trying to live up here or something. Possible man cave?

Knowing Knight, probably not.

I frowned at his mediocre job of repairing the hole in the catwalk and twisted my hands under the semi-loose board, turning it so it covered the hole. It was the only part of the catwalk that had damage, considering how new the system of black metal and rigging was.

Or maybe Knight had done that on purpose, to keep us out.

Well, after dodging the Occupation, getting thrown in the games and barely making it out alive (that was one rescue I was really grateful for), being inside two structures while they blew to bits, this was really nothing.

…

"Breaking news. Tonight the area of Lancaster has been practically shut down by police as..."

McKian and I stared at the television. This was definitely new. Normally, the news was reporting on, well, not much of anything; with Nathan Rose in office, the economy was improving, the unemployment rate was decent, and several laws had been overturned and new ones created.

So what was this?

The news anchor's pale skin was accentuated by the dark blush dabbed on her cheeks and her voice shook in the blue studio behind her. An amateur... they shouldn't have thrown a breaking news bulletin at her. "Police are looking for a suspect who has injured thirteen people by blowing up one of the shops in the area. The police have reported that two people are in serious condition. Witnesses to this event and several victims have provided detailed descriptions of the bomber, and several have offered actual pictures of the suspect."

The voice switched to a man at the scene just miles away from us. He looked a little thrown together, like they hadn't really had time to make him look like anchor he was. Definitely at least forty. "I'm standing right outside the building in Lancaster, and as you can see, the bomb has blown a decent hole in this shopping area."

I gasped. The store was in between two others, in one of the outlets. And there wasn't much of it left. And it wasn't like many people went to it; it was a vitamin store, the sign half blown off and dangling off the remains of the shell of the building.

McKian frowned and his dark eyebrows nearly connected as his eyes narrowed, starting to flicker and glow. "Who would do something like this?"

As if he'd heard Mac's question, the man continued with, "Here is a picture of the suspect from one of the witnesses' phones." The camera zoomed in and I frowned. That was one of the blurriest photos I'd ever seen, and they were in all black, with a few white marks on what looked like a blob of a helmet. "As you can see, he is a man who really stands out in the crowd-"

"He's not a man at all!" a victim screamed, rushing past the security and up to the camera. A wide and blood soaked bandage covered half her head; her arm was wrapped as well; her blue eyes were blazing with anger and hatred. "He was glowing! He lit up! There is NO way he's human."

I frowned. Dear God, here's hoping that she was just in shock.

* * *

_-lyrics from Royal Tailor "Control"_


	5. Chapter 4

(Mac's POV)

"Oh God…"

Skigh swung the steering wheel around of the Roadster, the new glowing blue controls inside the car pulsing to the beat of the music, or static, from the speakers and radio. I'd improved the car again, ripping it apart, every single piece, and upgraded it. Now the one of a kind car, now completely modeled and molded from Grid components, was probably the best car in the User world. I wasn't trying to brag, but I had managed to create a car that would keep Skigh safe in any situation.

That was my goal, and I'd reached it… with her car.

As her brown eyes widened, I gasped, staring at what little was left of the building. "Who would do this?"

I didn't know if I wanted to find an answer. Could a User really be this crazy to do this to others?

Wait, yes, Dimwit was.

That wasn't helping my feelings any.

Skigh parked the car and, for a second, I forgot how to get off the seat belt. And then, I forgot that the doors had to be pushed shut, that they didn't rezz back up.

I was forgetting stuff slowly, ever since Dimwit's "rotting blasted corpse", to quote Skigh, had been found.

But hopefully, I could figure out what was wrong with me. I couldn't tell Skigh. I didn't want her worrying about me. She had enough on her mind. I loved her, and I didn't want to hurt her any more than she already had been in her life.

"Well, looks like Lancaster's opening back up." Skigh adjusted the collar of her shirt, the necklace I'd given her a long time ago still hanging around her neck. The little key bounced off her chest and I smiled. I'd never seen her without it.

I guessed that was good.

I clenched my fists and stared at the countless cop cars still around us on every side. "Will they find him?"

Skigh sighed. "I hope so." I felt her hand slip into mine, and I tightened my grip on her hand as medics, or what I thought were medics at least, carrying out another person, this one covered in red blood. "That's another one injured." Her grip got tighter, too.

I bit my lip, not sure what Skigh had in mind being here. But whatever it was she was the smarter one of us and I wasn't about to doubt her for a second.

…

"That isn't a description! That's some dude in a motorcycle helmet," Skigh said, pointing at the blown up picture of the suspect.

I frowned. She wasn't bothering to point out that he had lights on his helmet. But I'd seen other people with lights on their helmets, so it probably wasn't anything suspicious.

The police officer by Skigh shook his head, his dark skin and dark uniform the opposite of Skigh. "It's all we have to go on. We-" his little phone thing rang and he pulled it from his pocket. "Sorry. I have to take this."

Skigh nodded, not too concerned. I stepped closer to her and leaned on the cop car. "So, the cops don't seem like they're doing too much."

"Oh, that's normal," Skigh mumbled, poking the picture on the hood of the car. "But this guy… right now, they're considering locking the whole area down and starting a manhunt."

I sighed. This just got better and better.

As I looked up at the building again, another person being carried out. At least no one was dead.

Yet.

I frowned and stared at something glowing inside the building. I nudged Skigh. "Any chance we can get in there?"

Skigh nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

* * *

…

* * *

(Skigh's POV)

Not good.

Not good.

NOT. GOOD.

Glowing footprints.

Mac knelt down in the rubble, the cops close behind us. Yeah, them being in here was the only way WE were getting in here.

And this was probably going to be played on international news, considering I could see a grey hunk of a camera behind me. Yeesh, the media had no decency any more.

"So… glowing footprints," the tall, dark and rather cocky police officer stated the overwhelmingly obvious.

Mac stood up and brushed off his black shoes; it looked like he'd gotten some blood on his shoes. That made me a little queasy, but the fact that someone would do this had had puke creeping up my throat for the past three hours.

And McKian didn't look much better. The whole thing was a little scary. And I figured, though I thought Mac could do a better job of it solo, that the mass of cops bumping into each other should get back to work.

...

As we started driving back to the auditorium, I tried unraveling every single little possibility.

Terrorist? Probably not. The bomb would've been bigger, or there would've been more of them.

Whacko person from crazy insane asylum? Uh, maybe. But that seemed a little off kilter as well.

Traitor?

Spy?

Hobo off the street?

I sighed and threw my head back against the now blue light raced seat back, hard. "What is going on here?" I finally blurted out, hoping the throbbing pain in my head would finally either go away, or cause my head to explode into billions of itty bitty pieces.

Mac tapped my shoulder and I felt the car jerk as I released my foot from the brake pedal, the blue light beneath my small dark shoe flashing. "Um, maybe you should be wondering what's going on out there."

I quickly pulled over and hurriedly got out of the car, McKian doing the same, the doors shutting in sync. I gasped.

As the summer sun started fading and the colorful sunset taking the place of the bright blue sky, the city lights and traffic lights started flickering; music from a nearby bar became a jumble of ear-piercing static; streetlights sparked and the little lights lost their bright individual flames.

This wasn't normal.

The whole area flickered out of existence, every light gone, except for the bright blue of my car.

This. Was. Freaky.

No, this was beyond freaky. It was like someone was draining the entire city of all its power.

" '… especially when energized by that very storm, that brought you straight to me…' "

I shuddered. Why was Cyrus' twisted, sick voice echoing in my head? This was not the time to lose focus.

" '… why so combative, pal? Are you feeling misunderstood, like nobody knows the real you? Tell me, because I'm here to help you, just like you did me…' "

What was up with the random flashbacks and snips of Cy's ramblings? I didn't need this, not now, not ever!

" '… no matter what you do, someone will not survive… ' "

"SHUT UP!" I screamed, grabbing the sides of my pounding head.

I felt Mac's cool hands wrap around my arms. "Skigh? What's wrong?"

I closed my eyes tight, wondering if shutting them too tightly could do any damage, took a deep, but very shaky breath, and forced them open. I looked up, right into McKian's big green eyes as they glowed with concern. "I keep hearing Cyrus in my head…"

McKian rubbed my arm, his fingers slightly moving up under my shirt sleeve and hitting the tangled barbed wire of a scar. "Don't worry, he's not-"

I jumped. Mac wrapped his arms around me and I shook. I guess two, almost three, years wasn't quite enough to prevent me from being on edge every stinking second of every blasted day. "Uh, McKian?"

"What?"

I couldn't even get the words out. Instead, pointed over behind his shoulder. Mac whirled around, still holding onto me, and his eyes blazed, narrowing into green slits as every building blacked out. "Should we be-"

Nodded before he could finish the thought we both had. "Let's go."

…

This was really bad.

The only power in the area came from generators, and even they were starting to fail.

And the hospital couldn't keep anything running.

So McKian and I, big shock here, were kneeling outside the hospital, which was barely visible in the darkness; the sky was starting to turn dark blue, which definitely wasn't helping matters.

And, well, people were going to die. Some, sadly, already most likely had.

McKian tapped my shoulder, his eyes and watch glowing in the darkness, another reason to stay out of sight. But being the only things lit up in about fifty miles didn't make those odds too good. "Okay, are you sure it's okay to do this?"

I nodded, then rolled my eyes; he couldn't see me much at all either. "Yeah."

"Your eyes are glowing again," Mac pointed out, the screen of his watch automatically preforming his mental commands.

Rolled my eyes like slot machines again. Yeah, having light bulb, glow in the dark eyes, sounds fun, but then you have to worry about the government getting in your way and trying to pull you apart to figure out how that whole thing happens.

And even I didn't know. I was pretty sure McKian didn't know too much about it either; if he knew, I'd make him spill it, mainly because it was NOT EVEN REMOTELY NORMAL to have glowing eyes!

Mac grabbed my arm, hitting the throbbing scar on the upper half, and flattened both of us against the wall as several cops walked by, flashlights slicing the inky darkness enveloping us. He turn his head and his eyes widened, the green embers burning bright with relief… and probably nervousness. "Okay, there's the main generator."

"How can you even see it?" I asked as he rushed forward noiselessly into the dark corner of the outside of the hospital.

Suddenly, the whole area erupted with green-white lightning, the generator sputtering back into action. The lightning faded as quickly as it appeared and I briefly saw McKian grin."There. That's one crisis averted."

I smiled in the darkness as well. Yes, one crisis averted.

Just hoped that everything was alright on the Grid for once.

…

"Breaking news from Lancaster. The area is on lockdown as police are beginning a manhunt for an individual who has been described as, well, not even remotely human-"

I slammed on the brake, feeling the steering wheel protest as I wrenched it around, drifting through the almost red light. "Great." I grabbed my phone out of the glowing cup holder by my seat and motioned for Mac to set the car to autopilot as I dialed a number that I've long since forgotten. "Hello?" I was relieved when someone picked up; I hadn't expected them to. "Yes, this is Skigh Ryker. I'm calling about the- yeah, yeah that… no, I don't have a lead on anything… I was told I could get involved if the police needed desperate measu- what?!" I WAS getting involved in this, even if the ditzy airhead secretary on the other end of the local police line couldn't comprehend what I was saying. "Whatever." I hung up and tried another number, and McKian, using that freaky mind-watch-car link again, let the dark tints rise over the windows, creating an opaque, and nearly illegal, look. "Hello, Mr-" more relieved than ever when this secretary was also cut off. "Mr. President?"

"Skigh, I'm Nathan to you. Please remember that!" Nathan Rose- smart, determined and incredibly clever- still managing to joke around at a blasted time like this. "Now, what's up?"

"I want in. I want authorization to get involved in the manhunt," I forced out, hoping he wouldn't start an over-the-line interrogation. McKian cringed as I glanced at him, his eyes wide and head shaking. He was definitely nervous about the whole we-have-ties-to-the-nation's-leader thing; I was a little throttled by it as well, but now was not the time to focus on that.

Static breathing. Thoughtful breathing. Good sign? Bad sign? An I'm-stinking-dead-meat sign? "I'm not asking questions. You have my full authorization, and I'll inform the FBI. They're already there as well."

"Thanks, Nathan, I owe you." The car switched back to manual and I grabbed the wheel, digging my very short fingernails into it.

Involved in a manhunt.

This could be interesting… or deadly.


	6. Chapter 5

(Skigh's POV)

Sirens.

Lights.

Flickering buildings.

This looked like the end of the world.

I glanced at Mac as I circled the one store, its dim lights fading all together. "Please tell me Beck and Tron have everything under control," I begged, watching as the turn signal automatically flashed.

He stared at his watch for a second, then nodded. "Yeah. They're just watching another address from CLU right now."

"What's he saying? Can you tell?" I asked, my voice barely audible over the sirens.

Mac nodded; he probably had the whole blasted thing echoing in the inside of his ears, along with the sirens.

Mental note: make sure he doesn't wind up needing a hearing aid. At this rate, I was gonna need one.

"He's making the rules a lot worse," McKian started breaking down everything he was hearing; talk about multi-tasking. "CLU's sending more programs to the games from curfew, and…" he frowned, obviously concerned.

"And what?"

Mac smirked. "Paige looks terrified."

Okay, this was news. "Wait, what?"

"Paige, the commander, looks like she's going to pass out."

Uh… not good. Had she found out about us? Or had CLU? "Can you get inside her disc? Figure out what's going on in that naive noggin of hers? Or disc? Or coding? Or whatever it's called- someone turn off the God-forsaken sirens already!" I ended that with a scream, fed up of the sirens because of someone's idiotic, twisted idea of…

Terrorism?

Revenge?

Hate?

Anger?

I shook my head, feeling my neck crack. Man, I wasn't even eighteen yet and I had been in an exploding building, been hit by a car and nearly killed, almost lost my arm in someone's barbaric idea of digital gladiator games, got blasted out of an exploding crane with a mad man, and now-

was part of a man hunt.

Yep, two months till eighteen. Why did I have the churning, gut-wrenching feeling that I wasn't going to live too long afterwards?

As soon as the gear shifted automatically, my hand no where near its glowing blue and black winding column, I felt my blood turn to ice, then fire.

That feeling, at the moment, was clearly justified.

Not. A. Good. Sign.

…

"THERE!"

I rubbed my ear, the car control switching to automatic. (Thank God for Mac's wonder watch thing-a-ma-bob!) The whole police frequency thing blasting the radio to bits was getting to be highly aggravating. "Okay, we heard you." I was glad they couldn't hear me; I'd been mumbling constantly, as had McKian, for this guy, or whacko as I preferred to dub them, to be caught.

And, with weird glowing footprints, catching them seemed pretty stinking easy.

McKian frowned and pressed his face against the window of the Roadster. "Uh, Skigh?"

I nodded. Swung the steering wheel around, following the cops around every corner and drifting through every turn. "Yeah?"

"Suspect just rammed one of our vehicles off the exit. We have received authorization to use force," the one officer cut off McKian.

Mac sighed. "Great. He'll be killing someone soon."

…

"So, now what?" Mac yelled over the sirens on all sides of the car. the flashing lights definitely not improving my driving.

I glanced down at the gear, remembering what McKian had programmed it to do, and I smirked, realizing that this was probably illegal or something in that general area.

Well, at least it was unheard of; I mean, seriously, who has ever seen a high-tech car, well- I'll wait on that.

As I reached for the gear, I felt McKian's hand close over mine. I turned towards him and smiled. "You sure about this?"

"Gee, I can't think of any better way to join a high speed chase," Mac quipped, slowly sliding both of our hands with the gear. Little glowing brilliant lines of squares and squiggles surrounded us and I prayed that the people behind us wouldn't wind up in an accident as the car became a mass of flourescent code; it split in two, and then the blue lines of McKian's codes and programming became two black and light blue light cycles.

Street legal? Well, they had license plates, so I guess so. As long as no one decided to check to see if they were legit (they were entered in different records, so I guess they were legit), then we were safe.

Mac flashed a thumps up over to me as his helmet slipped over his face, all black, no green and white circuits like always; before I could react, a helmet closed over my face as well. That link between us and that (sometimes a blessing, sometimes a curse) watch was coming in handy right now.

And if more secrets decided to float to the surface and the inevitable media's attention, then we'd definitely need it.

...

"Suspect is on I-95, heading north."

Rolled my eyes as another cop, probably the tenth, or twentieth, or hundredth one, pulled up along side of me and gestured to see if I'd heard that. I nodded at him, thankful that he didn't see my eyes continuously rolling behind the black of the visor. This guy didn't look like he knew how to gesture like the rest- looked more like he was trying to summon rain. The intercom with McKian's watch (or brain, by now?) was definitely a plus. "Hey, Mac, they want-"

"I heard them," McKian muttered, sounding every bit as annoyed as I was. I heard the frequency link switch and a national news report played in my ear, not too quiet to not be heard over the chaos, but not too loud to blow out my ears.

I sighed, shaking my head as the reporter's voice became a crackle of static, then finally returned to his deep, baritone voice. "As you're watching live, the cops are in pursuit of the suspect, heading north on Interstate 95. The suspect has taken down five police cars and is still going. He is not believed to be armed, but he is definitely dangerous to anyone on the roads."

Yeah, no duh, like we didn't know that.

"And rumors that Skigh Ryker and McKian Karson have joined the pursuit have been confirmed. Right now, you can see them here. They have the lit up motorcycles right there in the-"

"Light cycles," McKian joked. I laughed, trying to relax a little; I felt the gloves on my hands fill with sweat as I continued to grow more and more concerned, worried that someone was going to get killed.

I took a deep breath and replied with, "Hey, don't tip them off yet. Besides, it's kinda cool being the only ones to own light up 'motorcycles.' "

"They. Are. Light cycles!" Mac returned, his laughter echoing over the connection. As soon as I heard that, I felt a little less tense; his voice always was able to do that, even in the worst situations.

Right now, we could be in that scenario, or just waiting for it to unfold with this lunatic.

I almost throttled the gas as the link clicked, switching back to the police frequency. "Suspect has headed off road, two more vehicles damaged. Repeat, suspect has headed off road. Causing damage."

McKian, right in front of me, slowed down, the lights on his bike seeming to get brighter and bigger, and not because I was catching up to him. "You ready?"

I nodded. "Let's go."

...

Finally!

"Pull over to the side of the road!" another cop droned for the billionth time tonight. I'd just rammed the guy in the back, and I noticed that he was on a motorcycle. I twisted my hand, the bright blue handle twisting with it as I slammed into him again. And several flickering lights appeared on his motorcycle.

"Oh, God no..." I heard Mac mumble in shock as he sped right up along side the suspect, dirt and dust and several dead early summer leaves flying back over the cops as he rammed into the side of the motorcycle-

and I gasped too.

It wasn't fast enough, or bright enough for the cops to take note of, but it lingered long enough to burn in my mind.

"Okay, so hitting him's out," I thought aloud, pulling up on the other side of him. Still helmet plastered over my face, black opaque visor shielding my face from the suspect, and from Mac; and then I felt more alarm race through me as his helmet matched ours, minus the fact that his actually had lights. "McKian?"

"Yeah? I'm here," came a surprisingly casual response.

Hearing his voice again, I relaxed. "If we get in front of him long enough to momentarily activate a light wall on one of our bikes-"

"Yeah, that'll work," McKian responded, his voice still calm, but tinted with something sneaky. "Be prepared to hit the brakes."

Nodded. "Got it." I had the whole "Godspeed" thing echoing in my head; maybe I should have said it.

But I'd been silently praying this whole time, and maybe that's why.

I braced myself as McKian drifted around the next corner at top speed, passing the lunatic with the light cycle and, for a second, a bright wall of solid blue light appeared, then disappeared.

But it was there, and as the blackened light cycle exploded into little black cubes, I grinned. But, remembering Mac's caution almost too late, I swerved and pulled back on the brakes, hard. The huge dome of a visor began to rezz up and I ducked as it did, feeling the bike spin on the loose gravel and woodland mountain grit as the rider flipped back over the dome, his helmet cracking in the process. I winced, knowing what it felt like to get hit by another vehicle.

Not even wanting to imagine what it felt like getting hit by a light cycle that topped any speed here.

The bozo fell to the ground and bounced back up, his helmet still covering his face, and he pounced at McKian, knocking him off his bike; I cringed, for some reason unable to remove my hands from the handle bars as McKian's watch began to glow blue and his fist found the guy's black chest, throwing him off and knocking the air out of him.

As Mac threw punch after punch, the cops still too far behind in the dust to catch up (somewhere, the jerk had managed to maneuver around a fallen pine tree the size of Manhattan, and so had we- but cop cars don't take jumps like that too well), I noted that his clothes weren't really clothes. They were a seamless black suit, and it had a little bit of a reflection to it.

And wherever he stumbled back after a bone-breaking punch from Mac's powerful fist, there were glowing white footprints.

"Why is he still conscious?" I muttered, then smacked myself in the forehead as I remembered Mac could hear me.

Mac's ragged breathing did not sound good; he was overexerting, fighting this guy with everything he had. "You actually want the answer to that?" he gasped, his voice weak and almost drowned out with near-wheezing.

Still unable to pry myself from my bike for no real apparent reason I answered him with a yes, a very tired sounding yes.

"Cy."

That one word answer sent my already high anxiety levels soaring. Finally, I managed to remove my hands from the light bike and threw it to the ground, not caring at the moment about it; Mac could fix it later.

But as I got close to the two of them, Mac in dark shorts and t-shirt and Cyrus in all black, I felt my heart stop as Cyrus threw himself on Mac and took him over the steep incline that we'd been struggling to avoid on the road as we followed this maniac.

I ran to the edge and looked down, only seeing the full moon reflecting in the blackness of a massive lake. I paid no attention to the police sirens finally catching up with us.

Either they had fallen in and would probably drown... or Mac had sent the two of them back to the Grid.

My helmet receded and I shivered, the hot wind no reason to shiver at all. "Dear God, please let me be wrong about the first one."

* * *

-sorry about this chapter taking longer. trying to study for finals- emphasis on "TRYING".

thanks for the reviews, guys :)


	7. Chapter 6

(Mac's POV)

"YOU!"

I had triggered the watch before we hit the water of the big black lake. And now, the two of us were out in the middle of the outlands-

And I was really weak.

Cyrus' helmet disappeared and he smirked, all the white lights on his face twisting. "You're pathetic," he screamed, punching me in the stomach. I landed on my back and felt the month that I'd barely slept start catching up with me really fast. So this is what it felt like to be Skigh when she could barely sleep.

But at least she wasn't getting beat up by a nut case right now.

I felt his foot, or fist, hit my stomach, and I gritted my teeth. I had no strength left to fight him. I got hit again, in the back this time, and I rolled onto my stomach, trying to force my eyes open. But even they hurt.

I heard his disc activate and I finally managed to see something. Cyrus laughed. "So, you think you'll really get away from this… alive?"

I gasped, every part of me aching. I couldn't answer him if I wanted to.

"Well," Cyrus twirled the disc on his finger. "I might leave you alive."

That was not, at all, by any means, comforting. In fact, the idea of dying suddenly sounded better. But how could falling to pieces slowly and painfully sound better?!

Cyrus laughed again and I felt the hot rim of his disc against my neck. "But I most definitely won't leave you in one piece."

Great… now I knew why dying sounded better.

Cyrus kept laughing. "That little User friend of yours… where's she? I bet she'd derezz me right now, unlike you."

I gasped again, trying to get my watch to activate. It looked fine, no cracks, but I was probably too weak to work the thing.

And at the moment, weak wasn't what I needed to be.

And I was pretty positive I didn't need to be dead either.

"That's it? No more fighting?" Cyrus' disc sliced into my neck, just enough to create a minor cut, but one that hurt just the same. "Fine with me."

I felt him punch me in the head again and I finally groaned in pain. I couldn't do anything else.

But I could feel him slicing into my arm, the left one, right above the watch.

He wanted it.

I would've laughed if I had the strength left to, but I didn't. If he sliced off the watch, I wouldn't be the only thing to derezz.

The watch would too. Without me to connect to, it would stop functioning.

But that wasn't what he was after, not yet. He moved to my other arm, starting to slice into my shoulder. I finally screamed. He stopped pressing his disc into my arm for a second, then pressed harder than ever. I felt the coding try to fight the disc, but it couldn't. I felt the little bits of it falling away and with each little fragment of it falling from my system, I felt myself get weaker and weaker.

I was really glad Skigh wasn't here. If I died, I didn't want her to see it. She'd seen way more than enough in her lifetime.

I lost all feeling. I couldn't move or even open my eyes.

But I heard footsteps rushing over towards me and I wished I could run away from Cyrus, or that he'd just end this already.

I waited for him disc to cut into me again, but it never did.

I could barely hear the sounds of someone fighting above me, and I finally got my eyes open.

"I always was the better one," Cyrus screamed. I heard his disc reactivate and I had just enough strength to curl into a ball. Sadly, I had enough to think straight, which didn't make me feel any better as Cyrus continued speaking, and so did the fight. "To think, a pathetic mechanic would be the next Tron…"

And there went thinking straight. I heard a loud buzzing noise, and then I couldn't hear anything.

Or see anything.

* * *

"… is he alright? I…"

"… doesn't look good…"

I heard the voices, but couldn't tell who they were at all. But there were two and they sounded familiar.

"… nearly took his arm off-"

"His leg's no better…."

Oh, that was really comforting. For all I knew, I'd really lost my arm and my leg in that stupid fight.

"… just can't believe he's finally gone…"

"He did it to himself…"

Wait, was Cyrus dead? Was he really gone this time?

"… can't stabilize him…"

"Maybe if he goes back to…"

Back where? Where was I supposed to go? I was pretty sure I couldn't stand if I wanted to, and I felt like throwing up.

And passing out a second time.

* * *

"Mac?"

I groaned and slowly opened my eyes, then tried to smile. "Hi." Skigh was leaning over me, her small hand on the side of my face. Her hand felt really cold, and I noticed that I was on something really soft. I finally saw that I was back in the room I shared with Knight, when I could actually sleep when he wasn't snoring. "Where-"

She smiled. "You, according to the news reports, nearly drowned in that lake. And," she sighed, her smile disappearing for a second, then coming back, "according to the reports, Cyrus died."

"H-He's dead?" I couldn't believe it. Finally, he was gone.

Skigh nodded. "Nowhere on the Grid." She stopped smiling. "You're in really back shape though. We need to get you back to the Grid and try-"

"How bad is it?" I didn't mean to cut her off, but I felt like I was gonna pass out again any second.

"Um," Skigh hesitated. "Your arm was almost off, your left arm was almost in half, and I think it may be broken." Already this didn't sound good. "A few ribs are bruised, and possibly broken." And it only got better. "Your leg was almost destroyed, and you have a really high fever. You've been out for three days."

Three?! I shivered under the covers over me. "I-I'm sor-sorry."

"Okay, you're gonna have to stop saying that all the time," Skigh said, her smile coming back. She kissed my forehead and ran her hand through my hair, which was hanging in my eyes from growing. "You rest and let me handle this."

I nodded and winced. Everything hurt. Nice job, Cy.

"But don't be too surprised if you wake up on the Grid."

I smiled and slowly closed my eyes. "Okay. I l-love you."

Her cool hand patted mine, and I relaxed. "I love you too."

* * *

_-i know, i know... i've injured mckian... me is an awful person... :_(_

_(reviews on this chapter are greatly appreciated. don't worry- i can't kill him off... right?)_

_you is all awesome! :)_


	8. Chapter 7

(Skigh's POV)

"Skigh?"

I looked up from Mac's peaceful, very pale face, as Knight walked in, his dark skin looking even darker as I looked from chalk white McKian to chocolate colored Knight. Used to him smiling or smirking, so his very serious expression was a little unnerving. "How is he?"

As if he'd heard Knight, McKian groaned and twisted under the covers, throwing three of the six blankets draped over his tall frame onto the floor; his bare chest was visible, and I felt every disc in my spine shake as the dark "tattoos" covering his body continued to get lighter; whenever they did that, it meant that he wasn't doing well.

And at the moment, not at all.

I shrugged and jumped as Knight put his hand on my shoulder; from where I sat by Mac on the bed, Knight looked like a giant, even though he was pretty short; I was still the smallest of all of us, being just over 5' 2". "I think we might need to-"

"Need to what?"

Jumped again. Man, had this guy ever been taught that you knock on a door before giving the people in the room a heart attack? I looked up from his dark leather shoes, to his dark suit, and then saw his surprisingly tired blue eyes narrow behind his glasses. "Hi, Alan," I mumbled, a little too overwhelmed to say much else.

Alan walked over by the bed and frowned; minus that stuffy suit and the glasses, he would've matched Tron perfectly- seriously, the whole serious-frowny face thing they both had down pat- but thank God for Alan actually smiling. "Okay, what did you tell the press?"

A fraction of the truth. Cyrus dying, without the details. Mac nearly dying, without the details. Yeah, like that would go over well. "What did you want me to say?"

"How about the truth?" Alan retorted, gently running his fingers under the now blood-soaked bandage around Mac's ribs. (Thank God for Knight having a lot of medical experience- he said something about wanting to be a doctor originally, then nearly puked when he watched a surgery on TV.)

I figured the truth was a good idea; but I had told part of the truth- McKian did nearly drown. "Okay, so I tell the media that wants to eat me alive that my boyfriend decided to send himself and a dude who blacked out half the state to a digital world and then-"

"Okay, I see your point," Alan grinned sheepishly. "But… can this be undone? Or repaired?"

Nodded. "Normally, he has healing power and can recover in minutes. But he's too weak to have any of that power left."

Alan glanced at Knight. "How in the world did you get roped into this?"

"Car broke down, walked in on conversation that made no sense, ran for my life- long story," Knight muttered the last part.

I smirked. "Well, gee, a mysterious guy somehow makes it through the best security anywhere and you don't expect me to be a little nervous?"

Knight chuckled, his deep voice dripping with sarcasm. "Well, next time I'll just keep in mind that while I can't feel my feet and, oh that's right, HAVE NO METHOD OF TRANSPORTATION!"

We all laughed, but it just felt empty without McKian's innocent laughter there. I gently ran my fingers over his forehead and sighed. "What now? It's not like we can just take him to the hospital."

Alan smiled. Him and Tron… really missing the resemblance here. "Well, I think there's something else you could try-"

"And I'm out," Knight threw his hands in the air and I saw his cocky smirk as he peeked around the door. "What? I can't watch?"

Rolled my eyes. "Out, bright wonder."

Knight refused to move; the only thing he did was stare straight at us and smirk even more.

Alan shook his head and crossed his arms. "Knight?"

Knight's smirk disappeared as Alan's voice became the same serious tone as Tron's. "I'm going, I'm going."

Alan laughed as the door closed. "Okay, he's gone."

I couldn't believe these two. "Really? You too?"

"What? Some one needs to make sure that the two of you don't self-destruct in the process."

Hm… considering that could happen, not likely though, I was a little unnerved. "If we do happen to explode into a billion little pieces," I patted Alan's shoulder, the stiff fabric his suit was made from seeming like it would suck the life out of the person inside it, "I wish you the best of luck in explaining it to the media."

"Just get it over with," Alan muttered, rolling his eyes. "Man, it's been twenty years and I'm resorting to this."

"Twenty? Isn't it more like thirty?"

Alan sighed. "Fine, between twenty and thirty years. I'm too tired to keep it straight."

I smiled. "Okay." I felt something cold and wet on my leg and, already having a decent idea of what, or who, it was, I reached down and picked up Jump Drive, cradling his tiny black and blue ball of a body in my hands.

Alan sat on the bed and reached down, then straightened up with RAM's purple and pink fur spilling over his fingers. "Okay, take my advice and invest in a cage."

I bit my lip to keep from laughing and just nodded; Tron had tried a cage, and it took him an eternity before he discovered that the little digital Grid bunnies could climb or hop or leap out of his cage. "I will keep that in mind." Seriously? Uh, no cages. Tron already drove them crazy in that little cage-cubicle thing.

As Alan got back off the bed and placed RAM by Mac's chest, I brushed more hair out of McKian's very white face and grinned. "I love you." I hoped that he wouldn't feel any pain as I gently kissed his very cold cheek, then slowly pressed my lips against his. He didn't react, and I wasn't sure if that was good or bad. But as I closed my eyes and felt the transition from my world to his begin to take place, I felt him respond; he kissed back, and I was thrilled.

At least he was still there.

* * *

Star Wars.

Good God, why did this thing have to look like a blasted bacta tank from Star Wars?

I had been standing here for God knows how long, in one of the many rooms in Tron's hide-out. The guy probably hadn't realized that the Grid had this thing called chairs that you were supposed to sit on. But Mac was my concern; my feet getting ready to fall off- they'd been numb for a while, and I had to look down to confirm they were still there- but McKian nearly dying was far more important.

The second we were back on the Grid, in Tron's lair, McKian had started derezzing. Between Tron and I frantically managing to stop it, he stabilized, but not long enough to create a healing chamber that wasn't all that normal; we'd had to keep stabilizing him time after time. It was huge, and the big panel of crystal clear glass shaped into a cylinder was, well, about three times taller than me.

And it was filled with energy, modified coding and energy. I pressed my hand against the glass as McKian's limp fingers bumped the side. He was floating inside it, his black suit now a dull grey from the energy around him. The wounds from Cyrus glowed, and his circuits were flashing, dimming in and out as the wounds very slowly closed and undid the extensive damage. Tron, as a precaution, had slipped a heavy grey mask over his nose and mouth, and whenever Mac breathed, it sounded like Darth Vader was in the room, except ten times louder.

I leaned on the glass, too tired to stand up for much longer. But I didn't want to leave him alone. After the whole thing with Cyrus, I couldn't. For all I knew, he was still running around the Grid, or my world, or both. Closed my eyes and sighed.

"He's doing a lot better."

I jumped and whirled around to see Beck walking in. That little tool of Bodhi's that he carried around was amazing; it had basically built the healing chamber that I was still slightly using for support. My eyes had trouble adjusting to the bright white of the Tron suit. "Yeah… I just wish this had never happened."

Beck nodded. "At least Cyrus is gone," he whispered, making Cyrus' name sound like a curse.

"Yeah…" I hesitated before asking, "Beck?"

Beck just nodded and stepped closer to the chamber.

"How did Cyrus die?"

Beck shook his head, almost smirking. "The lunatic thought if he was going down, then all three of us were going with him."

"Three?" I really needed all the details.

"When Tron discovered he'd found a way into your world, you remember he wasn't too thrilled," Beck explained. "Well, not like he's ever thrilled."

I smirked. "You've got that right."

Beck smiled, then returned to a straight face as he continued with, "We found him a little ways from here, and he had McKian on the ground, but Cyrus' old injuries were preventing him from fighting too well. We managed to get him away from McKian, but he pulled out a grenade and when he went to throw it, it stayed in his hand, like it malfunctioned, and he derezzed."

I didn't really know how to respond to that; quite honestly, I was sure that someone else would have to kill Cyrus.

Never thought an accident would take his life.

Beck frowned and stared at the healing chamber. "His watch…"

I looked at where Beck was pointing and saw the watch activate, the tinted coding glowing bright blue. I couldn't read the white and black words, but it seemed like a good thing.

**"If you gotta' start somewhere why not here? If you gotta' start sometime why not now? If we gotta' start somewhere I say here If we gotta' start sometime I say now…"**

Beck jumped, his head moving around like a little bird as he tried to figure out what the noise was. "Is that music?"

I nodded, smiling. If the watch was activating, then we could remove Mac from the chamber-tank thing soon. "Yep."

**"Tonight's the night for the sinners and the saints. Two worlds collide in a beautiful display. It's all love tonight when we step across the line. We can sail across the sea to a city with one King- a city on our knees…"**

"So this is what you listen to?" Beck asked, starting to grin. "Not bad."

**"Tonight could last forever. We are one choice from together. Tonight could last forever. Tonight could last forever .We are one choice from together. Family, we're family…"**

I shook my head. "Trust me, it's not all good." Doubtful if blasting heavy metal right now would be a wise option.

**"If we gotta' start somewhere why not here? If we gotta' start sometime why not now?..."**

Beck stopped staring at McKian as Tron rushed in, his suit transforming from the darker Tron suit to the almost all black one. The music from McKian's watch surprised him. "Wait, what is that?"

"Music," Beck answered, grinning from ear to ear. "Why, you don't like it?"

Tron looked like he was fighting to keep a straight face; he happened to be losing. "User music?"

I nodded. "Yep."

**"Lost, my heart is hard as stone. On my own, alone, I carry it home. Gone, I used to waste the days so distraught, I thought, I'm changing my ways. Now You're changing my ways…"**

Tron jumped. "It's different now."

"New song, right?" Beck asked, his question making a little more sense than Tron's remark,

I nodded and kept listening to the music.

**"Start, the start of something new is what I find, when I'm just looking at you. Lift, you lift me off the ground- keep holding my hand, I won't bend or even look down…"**

Tron was still trying to figure out what exactly he was hearing. It was kinda funny to watch him. But Beck… as usual, he was more relaxed and care-free, smiling. Though I wasn't quite sure if he understood the words fully.

**"You save me, save me from myself. There is no one else I'd lean on. Save me, you save me from myself. There is no one else that sets me free…"**

I watched as McKian floated in that tank, wishing he could see this. Mainly because Tron had finally smiled. And right now, the revolution took a back seat.

Hey, even Tron needed a break from his seriousness once in a while.

**"You save me, save me from myself. There is no one else I'd lean on. Save me, you save me from myself. There is no one else that sets me free…"**

* * *

_-sorry about this one taking forever to get posted. finals are finally over! :)_

_thanks for all the reviews :) and don't worry about McKian- wait, on second thought, i take that back... ;)_

_lyrics from TobyMac "City on Our Knees" and Michael W. Smith "Save Me From Myself"_


	9. Chapter 8

**PART TWO: HERO**

**"I'm gonna fight for what's right. Today I'm speaking my mind. And if it kills me tonight, I will be ready to die. A hero's not afraid to give his life. A hero's gonna save me just in time…" -Skillet "Hero"**

* * *

(Mac's POV)

Floating.

Not a good feeling.

Floating, floating, feeling like I could puke…

I really hoped I wasn't dead.

I felt really weak, and my thoughts were jumpy and I couldn't keep them straight. I couldn't feel anything, though, so… was I dead?

I couldn't hear anything, there was nothing. I knew that somehow, I'd managed to send a mental command to the watch and it activated, but I did know what I'd commanded it to do.

It didn't have a self-destruct… did it?

I felt really warm and kinda fuzzy. And, after a while, my arms and legs started tingling. I didn't know what that meant, but I was hoping it was good.

It really needed to be something good.

I could feel more, but couldn't respond. Something was over my face, and it felt really cold.

I had no idea where I was. I just hoped that something hadn't happened to Skigh.

I really hoped she was safe.

* * *

...

* * *

(Skigh's POV)

Crawling around inside Tesler's ship again.

Separated from Beck… again.

Gee, if I wasn't mistaken, the last time Tron had us split up in this ominous black hole of death and doom, the Renegade nearly died.

So, remind me why we were here?

I froze, whacking my head off the top of the vent. I winced. "Okay, that hurt," I muttered, twisting to get more comfortable in the vent; without my helmet, it was much easier to breathe.

But what was happening below me wasn't helping my breathing- in fact, it made my heart race and my breathing almost stop.

I was right over Commander Paige's orange and black room; I cringed as everything spun around, my head throbbing, and sadly not from the sickening orange and black. Made a mental note to call my doctor when Mac and I got back from fighting a digital revolution. And then made another mental note to not mention anything about it to McKian.

Paige was pacing in her room, and her moving so much only made my head hurt more. She just wouldn't stop moving. Man, what I wouldn't give to be able to just punch her and knock her out right now.

Over the buzzing pain in my ears, I could hear her saying something, and judging from her expression, she wasn't too thrilled either. As the buzzing finally stopped echoing in my ears and the pain died down, I listened to her.

"What does he mean? What did that mean?" she kept mumbling, like she was in shock or something.

"What's up?"

I jumped, biting down on my tongue so I didn't scream and give us away as Beck appeared, inches from my face, his helmet falling away. "Good God! Don't do that!" I whispered, pointing through the grate at Paige.

Beck smirked. "Sorry." He frowned. "What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know." I shrugged. "Maybe if we listen we'll find out."

Beck nodded and we both turned to listen to her.

Paige punched a table in her room, the black surface actually cracking open and glowing putrid orange. "It doesn't make any sense!" She grunted and kicked the table over.

And then I noticed something. "Beck?"

"Yeah?"

"Where's her disc?!"

Beck's eyes widened, the orange glow reflecting in them as he pointed at the table she'd just kicked over. "Do you think she-"

"I'm afraid to say it, but yeah," I whispered back, my breathing starting to get worse again as the possibility of her actually remembering what had happened.

She picked up her disc and slipped it back onto her back, shaking. "I can't believe that he would… how did I even get there?!"

"Okay, who warned Tron again?" Beck joked, keeping his voice to a minimum.

I smirked and watched as Paige stood the table back up and pounded her fist off it. "Maybe we should leave her alone?"

"Sounds good." I followed Beck out of the maze of vents and managed to make it out of the base in one piece.

But something just felt really off.

...

"Skigh?"

"DIDN'T DO IT!" I screamed, flinching as someone shook my shoulder. I looked up and tried to get a decent breath as I saw Tron inches from my face, and he was actually not frowning; he looked concerned. I quickly got up off the hard floor and nearly fell over, feeling the pain from earlier come back with a vengeance.

Tron grabbed my arm and helped me stand up. "Are you alright?"

Nodded. Not wanting him worrying about me; there was a lot of other stuff he had to worry about.

"Are you sure?"

Nodded again and took a deep breath. "I'm fine." Yeah, I really wasn't. But in a few minutes I probably would be.

Tron nodded uncertainly, then whirled around as Beck, the Renegade suit gone for the moment, walked up the stairs. He looked tense. "Anything happening?"

Beck shook his head, then shrugged. "If you mean any plans for the Renegade, then no. But there is something else."

"What?"

I frowned. Something had to have happened- this wasn't how he acted after a normal patrol around Argon.

Beck sighed. "Paige confronted me."

Tron frowned. So much for cracking that serious mask of his. "Why?"

"She remembers a little bit from the whole between worlds transport, and she wants answers-"

Tron cut him off with, "Then just answer her. You were-"

"She doesn't want them from me," he slipped in, interrupting Tron.

Oh no… "She wants them from… McKian?" I guessed, really hoping I was wrong.

Beck nodded slowly. "And she'll only listen to McKian. She doesn't know his name yet, thankfully."

"There's more?" Tron crossed his arms and stepped closer to Beck.

"Yeah." Beck gritted his teeth. "She wants the answers by the end of the cycle."

Crap.


	10. Chapter 9

(Mac's POV)

Man, still dizzy after getting out of that tank thing!

And I never wanted to go in it again!

I walked between Beck and Skigh, and Tron walked behind us, his suit almost all black. My thoughts were slowly sorting themselves out.

But not fast enough for what was going to happen.

After hearing about the whole thing with Paige, and being filled in on what I'd missed while floating in that tank for three cycles, it felt good to be walking around on a leg that should've probably been long gone. I had no scars, and my energy levels were evening out so the healing abilities would speed up and get rid of this dizzy feeling I had.

Skigh's mask wasn't welcoming. I liked seeing her brown eyes, especially when they glowed. She was awesome, and that mask hid that.

Beck's mask was there, too. The white of his suit wasn't helping us blend in any, considering it was after curfew.

I heard Beck laugh. "I can't believe that's still there," he whispered, pointing to the remains of graffiti in the alley we'd ducked into as a Recognizer flew over us.

Skigh nodded. "Hm.. the whole 'Tron Lives' message still lives on." She tilted her head, the pure black surface making me wish more that I could see her face. "Hey, that wasn't there before. You think that-"

"Mara might still be spreading that free code, now that everyone has more free time." Beck sighed.

He still blamed himself for everyone he worked with getting fired. They were all living in apartments around the city, and Beck was the only one not staying with his co-workers. He visited them, but he couldn't live there with them. They were still looking for new jobs. Tron had tried to tell him it wasn't his fault, but several of his friends, not Zed and Mara- thankfully- had made it abundantly clear that they blamed the Renegade or Tron for them losing their jobs.

"Where are we supposed to meet Paige again?" Skigh asked, looking around the empty and very dark Argon Square as we stepped out of the alley.

"Well, didn't expect this many programs."

I jumped, staring at Paige as she appeared out of nowhere. Her helmet disappeared and she frowned. "Why so many?"

Tron stepped past us, just a foot away from Paige and snapped, "Well, you wanted answers, didn't you?"

"It takes all four of you to answer one question?" she asked. I expected her to smirk, but she didn't. She seemed nervous.

And I couldn't blame her at all. If Pavel found out, or Tesler for that matter, or Dyson and CLU since they were in Argon, she'd be dead.

Paige wasn't like them. Beck was right about that.

But just how different was she?

I mean, yeah, we all knew she was nicer than CLU and all his minions and lackeys put together. But as we followed her into another alley, I wondered just how much she remembered of the whole incident with winding up in Skigh's bedroom.

Hopefully, not too much.

Paige stopped walking and whirled around. "Okay, I want answers, now that you're here."

"That's all you want?" Tron asked, his voice really messed up from the helmet.

Paige rolled her eyes. "I'm not arresting you, if that's what you mean. At least not right now." She stared at me. "You're the one who can answer my questions?"

I nodded, slowly stepping forward, dizzy. Skigh stepped forward with me, and we were inches from Paige. Paige sighed. "I only asked for one of you."

"Congratulations on the plus one," Skigh replied, making Paige shut up.

Paige sighed. "What happened?"

"When?"

Paige sighed again, crossing her arms, still nervous. "You know what I mean, and you know far more about it than I do."

I felt dizzy, and was thankful that Skigh was right by me. She grabbed my arm. Paige frowned. "You alright?"

I nodded, but before I could say anything, Tron answered her. "He's… recovering from a recent accident."

Well, that sounded about right.

Paige rolled her eyes. "So, about those answers?"

"Right…" Something told me this was going to go over well. "Well, what exactly do you want to know?" Meeting her now, after curfew, was like asking a program walking by to stick their disc through your gut.

"What were you saying about Tesler?" Paige snarled. She seemed nervous to know.

Skigh sighed. "He lied to you. He BETRAYED you."

Paige shook her head. "He's not like that. He'd never-"

"And you say her name was Quorra?" I'd found the memory in Tesler's disc from when he recruited Paige. The holographic screen flickered above the watch and it played Tesler's memory.

Paige's friends stood right behind him, and I didn't have to look at her to know she was shocked. "She and her friend were treated right here."

Her other friend decided it was a good time to open his mouth as well. "They just left a few micros ago."

Tesler turned, and I felt my gut do the same. "You've done the right thing." He stopped, and I waited for Paige's reaction to the next words, ordering the destruction of the entire medical facility, and then the death of anyone exposed to the ISOs.

The screen vanished and Paige shook her head. "You had to fake that… you had to!"

"I'm sorry, but I could never fake this." I watched as she sighed. "Any more questions?"

"Who are you?"

That… I could answer. But did I want to?

Paige shrugged. "Never mind. I can see the four of you are very protective of your identities."

And seeing Beck's face right about now would be priceless.

I nodded. "Yeah, we kinda are. Anything else you want answered?"

Paige bit her lip. "Actually, yeah. You wouldn't happen to know any Users running around the Grid, would you?"

Skigh seemed surprisingly still. I wasn't sure how to answer that one. "No, I don't know about any Users running around the Grid." That, actually, was not a lie. Skigh wasn't a full User- she was a half program hybrid- and she was only in Argon and the outlands. I was pretty sure that didn't qualify as the whole Grid. Really starting to get the hang of loopholes.

Paige nodded. I hoped she bought that. "So… anything else you care to tell me about the incident where… it looks like you-" she pointed at Tron "-chose to dump me in the outlands?"

"Well, let's just say you wound up somewhere unexpected and we wanted you to be in a safer location." Man, could we get this over with? We were out after stinking curfew! (Okay, maybe I was getting better with speaking like Users.)

Paige stared at Beck, the white on his suit very bright at the moment. "Why didn't you just kill me?"

"That's not how we do things," I answered. The only one of us who would've thought about that was Tron, and even he wasn't going to derezz her. "And besides…" I pulled up another memory and let it play for her the see. It was the one on that deserted island that was derezzing with her and Beck on it. And it showed Beck diving into the water after her to save her, only to be beat by Tesler.

"Why are you even with the Occupation?" Skigh asked. "They've never cared about you. They manipulated you."

Paige glared at her for a second, then sighed again. She glanced up at a Recognizer flying past the alley. "Meet me here again at the same time tomorrow. I have to… get some things sorted out." Before any of us could respond, she disappeared.

"Where is she?" Tron asked, watching as I issued mental commands to my watch.

I smirked behind my mask. "She's heading back to Tesler's ship." Either she was looking to find proof that what I'd said was true, or she was informing Tesler that the Renegade had some recruits.

Either way, we were meeting her here tomorrow. Hopefully I wouldn't get dizzy again.


	11. Chapter 10

(Mac's POV)

"You're here. Good."

Tron was probably rolling his eyes as Paige led us into the same alley as last time. Her mask came off, and she looked nervous, like she was afraid for her life.

I figured someone had to say something. "Did you check to see if I was telling the truth?"

"I didn't have to look very hard. Tesler had everything right in plain sight… in his quarters."

She really wanted proof. "So, what do you think?"

Paige glanced at the Recognizers flying around overhead. "I think Tesler needs to be knocked down."

"What about CLU?" Skigh asked.

"Him too, but Tesler first." Paige crossed her arms and sighed. "I can't believe he did that, to innocent programs…" she looked down. "And I bought it."

Skigh stepped past me and put her hand on Paige's shoulder, surprising all of us. Paige jumped and stared at her masked face in shock. "He was pretty believable. It's not your fault."

Paige shook her head. "But I supported it! I supported killing programs for no reason."

Skigh spoke again. "Wait a second. I thought saving a life was still important to you."

"It is."

"And there's still a chance to save programs."

Skigh must've been waiting to say that. I glanced back at Tron and Beck. They just stared at Skigh and Paige in shock.

Beck took a step forward. "I don't think it's a good idea to risk going back and having Tesler or CLU see your disc."

Paige froze. "I know." She reached down in the dark corner of the alley and stood up with her monome player in her hands. "I need to leave."

I smiled. This could be good… but maybe bad… not worrying about that right now. "So, are you with us?"

Paige shrugged. "I guess so." She smirked. "Not gonna miss Pavel any."

Everyone laughed, except Tron. That was getting to become a regular thing with him. He just stood there, but I could imagine him possibly smiling behind that mask of his.

"But…" Paige hesitated to follow us back to the hide out. "I can trust you all, right?"

We all nodded. "Yes."

"Do any of you ever take off your masks?"

"Possibly." I jumped as Tron answered. I think we were all in shock. "But not right here." He turned around. "Speaking of masks, you should probably have yours on."

Paige nodded and closed her eyes as her mask slid over her face.

This was going to be a new experience.

* * *

"This place is huge… and very bright."

I smiled. This mask was getting annoying. "Yeah."

Paige still looked scared. "Why do I feel like I know you?"

Tron stopped tapping on the computer screen. Beck spun around. Skigh just knelt by the cage holding Jump Drive and RAM.

I looked down, not sure how to answer that just yet. "I don't know."

Paige glanced at Beck, still thinking he was Tron, then stared at the bunnies. "What are they?"

"Bunnies." Skigh picked up RAM and walked over to Paige. "This one's RAM."

Paige was scared as Skigh handed her the rabbit, but she smiled and quickly got used to holding the little bunny. "This is a girl?"

I nodded. Now, if she could just not ask about Jump Drive's gender.

She glanced at Jump Drive. "That one looks nice. He's cute too."

Okay, she didn't ask. That was good.

But I looked again and laughed. Jump Drive had jumped over that fence- he'd made it. "Uh, whose idea was it to build a cage again?"

Beck laughed, his voice very distorted. "Not mine."

Tron threw his head back. "Okay, fine. Blame me for wanting to stay sane."

"More like overly serious," Beck joked.

Skigh laughed and nodded. "I'm with the guy in the white suit on that one."

Paige smiled. "Is it always like this around here?"

"No." Skigh snorted. "We wish it was, but sadly, it's not."

Beck and I laughed. "But you've gotta enjoy it while it lasts. And that won't be long."

Tron growled. "Okay, get off my foot!" He tried shaking Jump Drive off. Instead, Jump Drive just licked him.

Paige smirked. "I think he likes you."

"He likes his feet," I commented, laughing harder as Tron pried the bunny off his foot and then he jumped onto Tron's head, slipping on the helmet. "And his head."

After a few moments, the laughter died down and Paige studied each of us. "Am I ever going to find out who you are? I'm going to need to know your names eventually…"

Tron sighed. "That's true," Beck said, and Tron sighed again. "What? Do we need to repeat how I met you?"

I smirked. "Or how I met you two?"

"I'm not to blame for that one," Beck said, throwing his hands in the air. "So…" he stared at Tron. "What do you think?"

"Wait, you're asking him?" Paige frowned.

I crossed my arms. "What are we doing?" I asked Tron, ignoring Paige. "Waiting for an answer here."

Tron sighed. "You need more patience."

"And you need more of a sense of humor. I guess we all have things to improve," Skigh joked.

Tron laughed. "Fine." He looked at Paige. "We'll show you who we are, unless anyone objects."

"I'm fine with that," Skigh said. Beck and I nodded, and Tron motioned for me to go first, considering I was the first one she'd asked.

I let the helmet and mask disappear and Paige gasped. "Now I know why you're familiar! You're the one who beat up Pavel in the club before!" She smirked. "Nice job, by the way."

I shrugged and glanced at Beck. "I was just protecting one of my friends," I said, knowing that I hadn't done much of anything except get Pavel off Beck's back.

Paige rolled her eyes. "Okay, so you're the modest one."

Skigh took off her helmet next and smiled. Paige shook her head and smiled back. "And you… you were there too, weren't you?"

Skigh nodded. "Yeah, but I'm more of a negotiator." She pointed at me. "That's McKian, and I'm Skigh."

"McKian…" And I just waited for her to figure it all out. "You're the misfit program, the one with the-" she stopped and smacked her forehead. "What exactly does that watch do?"

"I'll get back to you when it stops surprising me," I answered, smirking.

Skigh laughed. "And me."

Tron stared at us. I shrugged. "Okay, whichever one of you wants to go next can." I picked up Jump Drive and RAM from their tumbling ball on the floor and waited for one of them to take off their masks.

I watched Beck. He seemed nervous about his mask coming off. He shook his head. "Maybe we should wait on saying who we are."

Paige just nodded. I smirked at Beck. That was probably the best idea at the moment.

* * *

"Okay, no more simulations." Beck sprawled out on the floor, his helmet still in place. "How's the public address going?"

Tron snorted, his helmet still there too. He glanced at Paige, who was poking at a view screen of the new wanted posters.

And for once, it wasn't the Renegade that they wanted.

Paige sighed. "Great… now what?"

Skigh tapped on one of the wanted posters with Paige's face plastered on it and frowned. "I…" She hesitated. "I think you might need to change your appearance. Nothing drastic, but enough to throw off CLU and his lunatics."

Paige bit her lip. "So, how much would need to be changed?"

Tron twisted around and interrupted us. "CLU's ordering for everyone's discs to be scanned." He stared at Beck, his mask annoying me again. "You should probably stay here."

"I don't think I can get up," Beck replied, groaning from exerting in the simulations. He sprawled out more on the floor and Jump Drive hopped over to him, hopping onto his chest. Beck groaned again. "And that hurts." He didn't even bother to lift the bunny off his sore chest.

Paige sighed. "So, how much are you changing again?"

…

Paige's disc seemed very heavy in my hands. I didn't know why. But as she finally handed it to me so I could alter her appearance, I was afraid I was going to end up dropping it.

"Okay, I'm not going to do too much," I said, trying to calm her down.

Skigh smiled at her and leaned on my shoulder. "You sure you're okay with this?"

Paige nodded and stared at her feet.

I sighed and glanced at Skigh, glad that her mask was gone. She smiled a little and tapped on the hologram of Paige face, changing the length of her hair. She motioned for both of us to be quiet, and since Beck and Tron were taking a look at some surveillance footage, we were alone.

The hologram showed Paige's hair reaching her shoulders. Skigh tapped a few more glowing holograms and her hair turned a darker brown, and I noticed that it had some dark purple streaks as well, nothing too noticeable. Skigh moved onto her eyes and made them just a little lighter, enough to throw off Tesler. She made her skin a shade darker, again, not too noticeable.

And then Skigh grinned. She pointed at Paige's suit and I ran my finger down the sides, front and back. The suit changed, and I smiled at Skigh as Paige's suit changed from the orange of the Occupation to a few white and purple circuits.

I saved the changes and handed Paige her disc. "If you don't like the changes, I can undo them."

Paige nodded and slowly replaced her disc. I gasped as the changes took effect. She watched her suit change and smiled. "That looks better."

Skigh smiled at her. "I think you'll like the changes."

Paige turned to face a mirror that we'd set up before hand and gasped. "Wow…" she ran her hands through her longer hair and smiled. "I always did like it longer." She turned to face us. "Thank you… but why are you helping me? I worked for the enemy."

"Everyone deserves a second chance," Skigh said. "And everyone needs help. It's the right thing."

"Thank you." Paige smiled. "I always hated that orange anyway."

* * *

"So, is he ever going to take off his mask?"

I smirked. "I don't know. That's up to him."

Paige smiled. "Is he really Tron?"

"Again, that's up to him. But he's got a lot on his mind, so that mask might not come off for a while."

Skigh sat down on the steps with us. With Tron and Beck in the training room again (I was waiting for Beck to pass out), we were alone.

Paige rested her head on her hands. "So, is he really the hero programs make him out to be? I mean, I know he derezzed a few programs, but is he really all he's cracked up to be?"

"First of all, he was framed." Skigh took control of answering, which was good. "He has never killed anyone in his life. And yes, he is a hero." She smirked. "You were pretty impressed the first time you met him."

Paige rolled her eyes. "I was not."

"Really?" Skigh smirked more. "If I may quote you, you said 'Impressive. Maybe you should work for me. We'd make quite a team.'"

Paige gasped. "How do you know that?"

"You'd be amazed." Skigh smiled.

I smiled too.

Paige blushed. "I don't think I want to know." She laughed. "Where do you two live? Not here, I'm guessing."

"Oh, you've got that right." Skigh grabbed my hand and squeezed it, then leaned on my chest. I smiled at her. "But this place is pretty nice."

"Are you two dating?"

I nodded at Paige. "Yep."

Paige sighed. "I almost was dating someone, but I thought they were a distraction. But…" she laughed. "They weren't. Maybe I should go find them and apologize."

"Yeah, you walk out that door and you're derezzed."

"I know…" Paige shook her head. "Man, I wish I could just see Beck again."

I felt Skigh stiffen at that. I rubbed her back and she relaxed. "Well, Beck's kinda busy, so," I hoped this would sound convincing- it was the truth, "I'd probably wait on that."

…

Paige had fallen asleep. She was laying right by RAM and Jump Drive's cage, Skigh's pink glowing blanket covering her.

We were waiting for Beck. It had been about three User days since we'd been home, and I was hoping that things were going okay.

But something was off here.

Skigh and I were sitting on the stairs, Skigh tapping on my fingers and humming. I tried humming too, but I wasn't very good. Tron was using his computer, and he had his mask off, quite sure that Paige was asleep. I'd checked, and she was in sleep mode, and since her system was drained according to my scans, she would be out for a while.

We'd been waiting for Beck for a while. He still wasn't here.

Tron finally got worried after a while. "Okay, where is he? He's never this late!"

Skigh and I stood up. I issued the mental commands to my watch and it scanned the Grid for Beck. I frowned. "Um, Tron?"

"What?"

"I'll be right back." I ran down the stairs and into Tron's elevator, the ride down to his garage taking far too long. I jumped out of it the second it stopped and ran out of the hide out, staring at the sky over the city.

A massive yellow cloud twisted over the city, sickening yellow lightning shooting from it and striking several buildings. The clouds cast an orange glow over everything, and the cloud kept growing.

"What is that?"

I felt Skigh lean on my back as she caught up to me. I shook my head. "I don't know, but it doesn't look good."

And then Tron appeared. He glared at the cloud as it continued to grow. "CLU, what have you done?"

* * *

_-thanks to The Altar and the Door, PrincessKai317 and Bob the Cat for reviewing! :)_


	12. Chapter 11

(Skigh's POV)

I glared at the mass of puke yellow churning puffiness as it continued to stretch over the blue sky. This had to have been CLU's doing; yellow clouds that looked like they were born from fire and hatred didn't just appear everyday.

Mac sighed, tapping his watch and probably sending it command after command mentally. "It's some sort of death cloud. Whatever it hits with it's lightning, it derezzes."

Tron's frown and icy glare turned into a nasty grimace, then reverted back to his usual scowl. "Great…"

The ground suddenly shook. Mountains crumbled in the distance. Several sickly blue-orange cracks tore up the outlands and the thin blanket of white snow. McKian jumped, the ground under his feet crackling. "He's gonna destabilize the city, and possibly the Grid," he managed to get out, staring at shock as the cloud practically doubled in size.

Tron shook his head. "Is there any way to stop it?"

McKian tape his watch again; I stared at him in awe- how could anyone be able to pull off the stuff he did. "I think some one beat us to it," he mumbled, glancing up from his watch, then his head turning so fast I was afraid it would spin around and fall off.

Looked where he was staring with wide glowing eyes and gasped. The cloud was shrinking, the lightning starting to cease. With the crackling of the lightning gone, and the ear-splitting thunder fading with it, I could hear screaming in the city, and I watched in horror as several buildings crumbled to the ground. The clouds vanished, revealing a small orange and yellow ship with a reflective black surface. The ship exploded, raining down little orange cubes on the city. "That must've caused it…" I took a deep breath, praying that a lot of programs hadn't been killed in the sudden attack of a freak storm. "But… who stopped it?"

McKian tapped his watch again, the screen blazing blue. He sighed. "I think we already know who." He sighed and muttered, "Thank God no one was in that ship." He tapped his watch again, and I felt my blood turn to ice as three words flashed bright red and white.

PROGRAM IS UNDETECTABLE.

He paled, his already light skin turning the color of the remaining snow. "I just don't know where he is."

…

Flying over the city.

Or, if you could call the charred remains of many buildings and piles of rubble a city.

Argon was basically in tact, but probably three dozen buildings were gone; another dozen were still standing miraculously, and I could see the remains of programs who were unfortunate scattered over the streets. But, ironically, the majority of the pixels from programs, according to McKian's scans and my eyes, were not civilians. They were black guards.

Interesting.

The city had mostly been saved. It could been repaired.

But the lives lost?

They couldn't be replaced.

I saw Zed and Mara walking around outside the apartment building they were at, along with most of their co-workers. Actually, all of them.

Except Beck.

Their building was still standing, and Mac scanned to see if the other buildings the other workers were at were still in existence. They were, thankfully.

But Beck wasn't there.

And if his friends were even remotely concerned about him, they were doing a blasted good job of not showing it. I motioned for McKian to fly alongside me for a second. "Hey," I spoke into the intercom link still in our helmets from the manhunt, "can you listen in on that?"

"A conversation that's probably private?" I heard some sarcasm in there…

Nodded at him as Tron slowed down a bit, his light jet glowing bright white in front of us.

"Be happy to." McKian waited a second before responding. "They're talking about making sure everyone's safe."

"Have they mentioned Beck?"

Yeah, I know, I know… I was asking him to look into the discs and memories of the mass of mechanics below us, but for an excellent reason. We had to find Beck before anyone else, namely the Occupation and the bright bulb of the bunch CLU, did.

Mac shook his head. "No. Nothing." Static sigh drifted over the connection. "Maybe they just forgot about him for the moment?"

"I think they forgot about him period." I sighed. That wasn't right of them- just forget about someone's existence like that.

And they were supposed to be Beck's friends. Some friends they were now.

…

"Still no sign of him?"

McKian's watch had decided on its own to blare a negative noise whenever he attempted to scan for Beck. It would tell him that Beck was still nowhere to be found.

And it was blaring again.

Mac sighed. "Nothing."

Nothing.

Nothing.

Blasted stinking nothing.

Where was he? We'd ran scan after scan after scan, and nothing.

He wasn't dead… he couldn't be dead. He was a hero, with or without the suit. He deserved to live after everything he'd been through; the games, battling Cyrus, losing Able…

Beck. Could. NOT. Be. Dead.

Not now.

…

We'd been here almost four days. Not like anything pressing was coming up that we needed to get back for; Knight had cleared our schedule for the week, so we still had time.

But the three days we had left? That didn't seem like a lot.

Tron sighed and slowed down, his jet falling back beside ours. "Skigh, you're going to end up passing out," he shouted over the sound of the engines and the city being rebuilt below us.

I shook my head, trying not to yawn. "I'm fine," I shouted back.

McKian glanced at his watch; sometimes being linked into that contraption on his wrist made me nervous. It probably had told him I was exhausted, but he wouldn't say anything.

At least I hoped he wouldn't.

Right now, finding Beck was my top priority. I'd been praying and hoping we'd find him, but it'd been so long…

No, he was NOT dead. He was not laying somewhere, turning into a pile of radiant blue cubes of nothingness.

"Found him!"

"Thank GOD!" Wait a second. "Mac, where is he?"

…

"Good God…" I derezzed my light jet and fell the last few feet to the ground; probably my best parker roll yet.

As I stood up, McKian and Tron also landed. Tron's mask disappeared and he was frowning again. "Where is he?"

I'd seen a blue splotch in the middle of the freshly fallen snow from the sky. But where was it now?

"There!" Mac took off running, and so did Tron. I sighed. I couldn't run like that- not unless I wanted to pass out. I tried to run, and I felt the pain from earlier, except just not in my head. I winced and had to stop. Maybe calling my doctor would be a good idea…

I finally caught up to Tron and McKian and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. "That's… Beck?"

Mac nodded and knelt by his head, starting to run scans on Beck…

or what was left of him.

Beck's suit was practically eaten up by the blue pixels beneath; his arms were covered in deep slashes, and so were his legs. His face was a mess too.

But that wasn't the worst part.

Yellow lines raced around the blue cubes of coding. His eyes fluttered open for a second, and they weren't brown.

They were yellow.

He moaned and coughed, several pixels, a sickly mix of blue and yellow pouring from his mouth.

McKian winced with him as Beck coughed again, almost unable to breathe. "He was grazed by that lightning, and when he destroyed the cloud, it had some sort of shock effect that did this. He's gonna derezz if we don't remove the corrupted code from his system."

"Who-"

I glanced up, not expecting her to have followed us.

Paige stood there, staring at Beck in shock. He was barely recognizable. I was waiting for her to notice that Tron's mask was gone. She was fascinated by the fact that the white suit Beck was wearing was so mangled. "What happened?"

"Long story that he won't live long enough to get through," Tron snapped, looking up at her.

Paige gasped. "Wait, you're Tron?" She stared at the Renegade again. "Then who's he?"

"Someone who can probably die," Tron answered her again.

McKian tapped his watch again as it flashed red and buzzed an all too familiar alarm, from the last time he'd nearly died. "He's derezzing."

I gritted my teeth as McKian managed to stabilize Beck, cradling Beck's disc in his hands, a blue glow surrounding both. "Is he stable?"

"For now."

Paige knelt down by me, her knee almost bumping Beck's shoulder. "I think I can fix this. But I need his disc."

Tron hesitated for a second before nodding. He was staring at Beck's chest, and I saw why. The bright "T" was annihilated, now a deep slash of blue pixels.

Paige started working on Beck's coding, and McKian watched carefully, having to stabilize Beck two more times before Paige finished. She gently rolled him on his side, then put his disc back.

And his suit changed.

As his injuries vanished, so did the white Tron suit. And his face went back to normal as well, no scars left anywhere on him.

Paige jumped up. "Wait… HE'S the renegade?!"

Tron nodded. "Yes," he answered verbally, his one word answer making Paige shake even more.

"How…" Paige shook her head. "He…" She stared at Beck. Probably a good thing he was still out of it. "He's the one I've been fighting this whole time?"

Tron nodded again.

Beck moaned and twisted on the hard ground. McKian tapped his watch, the beeping breaking the awkward silence. "He's fine now, but he's going to be very weak for a while."

"Is he sleeping?" Paige asked, concerned.

Mac nodded. "In sleep mode."

Paige sighed. "So he's the one who blew up CLU's statue?"

"Yes." Okay all three of us answering that at the same time wasn't probably the best thing, but it was a little funny.

Tron knelt down and gently, surprisingly, picked up Beck. "We should get back, before it's after curfew… if it isn't already."

* * *

"Do you two have jobs?"

Paige's question made everyone smile; Beck was still really weak, and his circuits flashed and flickered on and off. But he was awake now, and had been for a little while.

Good.

Tron sat down on the stairs, supporting Beck so he could sit up. "Now that you mention it," he began, throwing a couple glances at Paige, "you never did say what you two do for a living."

I giggled. "Our job isn't exactly… orthodox."

Mac nodded, his hand running up and down my back gently. "That's an understatement. And you've been at it longer than I have."

Paige smirked. "Well, what do you do?"

Tapped McKian's knee and pointed to the watch. He bit his lip, then broke into a grin. "Um, we…" he sighed. "Good grief, this is hard!" He shrugged. "Maybe we should just show you…"

* * *

**"What are you doing?"**

**Knight slammed down the remote on the sofa, nearly hitting Mac. McKian jumped. "Hey! Watch it!"**

**I sighed and rolled my eyes. "So, back to my question, what are you two doing?"**

**"Watching Jeopardy," Knight replied, sticking his hand into a half-ripped open bag of chips.**

**More like dropping chips everywhere. No way I was cleaning this up. At least McKian wasn't the one dropping them; he just had a Coke balanced on his leg, the condensation from it dripping off the can and running along the "tattoos" on his leg and onto his grey shorts. He smiled at me. Man, that innocent smile was probably gonna be the death of me yet!**

**I sat down by him and snuggled against him, my head on his shoulder. Why did he have to be so tall? "So, anyone get any of the questions right?"**

**Knight smirked. "Gee, Mr. Know-It-All here-"**

**"Is waiting for something to come up that I actually know about," McKian finished, rubbing my arm; my tank top once again exposed the scar on my arm, and again he was running his fingers over it.**

**Not a bad thing.**

**"Hey, round two's starting!" Knight picked up the remote and unmuted the commercials. "Let's see how we do this time."**

**The categories?**

**World War 1.**

**Edgar Alan Poe.**

**1900's.**

**Who wrote it?**

**Dynamic Duos.**

**And…**

**Mac frowned. "Is that legal?"**

**I shrugged. "I don't know."**

**"Maybe no one will pick that," Knight suggested hopefully while spilling more chips onto the floor. "Maybe they'll find World War 1 more exciting or-"**

**"Skigh High for four hundred," a woman with hacked blond hair and a pointed nose chimed.**

**McKian shook his head. "Well, let's see if we can guess it anyway."**

**Nodded. "Okay. Better make the most of being hacked apart by a game show."**

**"It's not how many pair of shoes you have at all. During the duration of the shows Uprising and now Renegades, Skigh's most famous pair of shoes have remained this color."**

**Glanced down at my feet on the edge of the coffee table. "Gee, I wonder if it's black," I muttered, staring at my black high tops.**

**"What is black?" A man who looked a tiny bit Chinese answered. "Skigh High for eight hundred."**

**"If you know anything about McKian Karson, you'd know he does an excellent imitation of this Star Wars character."**

**McKian stared at both of us in confusion. "Yeah, uh who was that again?"**

**Knight bit his lip. "I don't remember."**

**"Who is Darth Vader?" the woman from before answered. "Skigh High for twelve hundred."**

**"Darth Vader? The guy with the black suit who sounds like this?" he asked, twisting his tone to match Vader's with the suit and mask almost perfectly.**

**Knight gaped in shock. "Next Star Wars film, you do the voice."**

**I laughed. "Yeah sure. Play public enemy number one. Great thinking."**

**We all laughed, then stopped as the next question popped onto the screen.**

**"Skigh's last name before adoption was, well, not what many would expect, unless you put "Anakin" in front of it."**

**I looked down. "Yeah, joke about it on here…" My old last name had made life a living nightmare, more than it already was.**

**"What is Walker?" A quiet woman on the end guessed, her tan skin very dark compared to her very white dress shirt. "Dynamic Duos for four hundred."**

**"THANK YOU!" Knight screamed at the television. "Honestly, I thought they'd drain that category first once they got on it."**

**I sighed. "They have to answer all of it anyway. Might as well get it over with."**

**"Get what over with?"**

**I jumped, and so did McKian. Stared up at the tall figure leaning on the wall in yet another suit despite it being almost one hundred degrees outside. "Hello, Mr. Alan Bradley of ENCOM."**

**"When did I become 'Mr. Alan Bradley?' " Alan asked, smirking. "And…" his smirk faded. 'Why is your name on Jeopardy?"**

**"Because I'm a category, and McKian was part of the one question."**

**Alan glared at the television. "Can they do that?"**

**Mac's watch sounded some new, and weird sounding, alarm. He tapped the screen. "Well, looks like we're not the only ones a little ticked. Take a look."**

**A holographic screen spilled from the watch, the large rectangle's edge bright blue. It was Twitter. McKian tapped the new screen several times. "Take a look at what's trending.**

**I did, and I was shocked.**

**#SkighMac.**

**SkighR_McKianK.**

**Skigh Ryker.**

**"Give me the stupid remote," Alan hissed, grabbing it off Knight. "Man, let's just put on something else-"**

**"And trending now, just minutes after the questions on Jeopardy, fans of Skigh Ryker and McKian Karson are up in arms-"**

**Alan switched it off CNN. "Okay, how about we just turn the thing off?" The screen went black. "Did they bring up-"**

**"Just tack on "Anakin" before my first name and former last name," I muttered, pressing closer to McKian.**

**Alan jumped up, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. "That's crossing the line. I'll be right back…" he walked out of the room, mumbling… and possibly cursing.**

**McKian shifted on the couch, pulling me closer to him, which I didn't think was possible. "He seems mad."**

**"And there's the resemblance to Tron," I said, watching as McKian's very sad face was replaced with a huge grin. "Wait, does he even have their number?"**

**Mac shrugged. "Knowing Alan, he'll find it." I giggled as J. D. hopped onto my lap. McKian grinned. "Hey, buddy." He rubbed in between Jump Drive's tiny ears and the bunny's little body flattened out like a rug; his little tongue lapped at the edge of my shorts, hitting my leg.**

**Knight dropped the bag of chips. "Okay, you can't eat those!"**

**I looked down at the floor. "Is RAM trying to eat those?"**

**"Rabbits aren't aware of the five second rule," Knight joked, picking up the rabbit. "Thankfully, she wasn't eating those." He brushed the crumbs off the bunny, his dark fingers getting lost in her purple-pink fur.**

**Alan walked back in, and Jump Drive abandoned my leg, beginning his usual ritual of untying Alan's shoes. Alan smiled. "Okay, and that's another pair of laces that he's destroyed." He picked up J. D. and tapped the bunny's tiny nose.**

**I shrugged. "We have a show tomorrow. We'll just address it then. Besides," I picked up an unopened can of Sprite and flipped the metal tab back, "I think we can fill an hour or two tomorrow."**

**…**

**"Okay, so about last night…"**

**The Grid lights were activated and twinkling. The two thousand seats were almost all filled.**

**And I was hopping off the desk, feeling a minimal amount of heat from the blue lights on the desk. I adjusted my glowing blue and black headset, my long hair covering the mic until I adjusted that, too. "Just out of curiosity, how many of you were on Twitter tweeting about this?"**

**Almost every hand went up. Mac, sitting behind the desk on the swivel chair, the green wheels lit up, stared in shock. "Wow, that's a lot of you."**

**I nodded and watched as their hands fell. "Thanks for the support, guys. Really I appreciate it. But…" I sighed and stopped pacing. "I happened to notice some things that you said on there that weren't as supportive. And no, I don't mean bashing me or Mac. I mean cursing and bashing other people."**

**"Now," I adjusted my mic again and cleared my throat to continue. "Standing up for what you believe in and defending other people is great. And that's what a lot of you did. However, when you come down on others like some people did last night, you have crossed the line."**

**I took a deep breath and jumped off the stage, standing on the floor, just feet in front of the first row. "How many of you are truly dedicated to this? To standing up for your beliefs and fighting to keep your rights? I mean, at the moment with President Rose in office, our rights are secure. But," I started walking up one of the isles, a camera or two trailing me, "in a lot of other countries, they don't have the ability to have these freedoms and rights. If you bashed someone last night on social media because of what happened, I am sorry to say that you weren't doing anything to defend anyone."**

**"Do I bash people?"**

**The audience murmured a quiet no.**

**"Does McKian?"**

**Another no, this one louder.**

**"But why shouldn't you do it? Because we've said that it's wrong? NO! We are not perfect- no one is! I have said things I regret. We all have. I could've come down on so many people from my past because of what they've done to me…"**

**I stopped and looked down. "And I could've been the one using social media to get on other people's cases. But I won't. Mac won't. And just because we say its wrong… that does not mean that our word is golden. We are not some gods you're supposed to bow down to. We are people like each and every one of you. Some one remind me what this show's called!"**

**"RENEGADES!" the audience screamed, some applauding, others waiting for what I'd say next.**

**I nodded, slowly pulling my phone out and tapping the screen (thanks for the upgrade, Mac). "Thank you. And, while we're on that, to better explain my point, I was sent this on Twitter, and I really just have to read this:**

**Defending the broken is our mission.**

**Preserving the truth is our goal.**

**Helping others is our destiny.**

**But our purpose?**

**Our purpose is not to die in vain.**

**It is not to give up at the first obstacle you encounter.**

**It is to show the world that you can be better than it's standard.**

**It is to show even your worst enemies you care about even the likes of them.**

**It is to prove that because someone greater loves you, you can love others.**

**And above all, it is to make a difference using your God-given gifts.**

**It is to do the right thing, come what may."**

**I slipped my phone back into my khaki shorts pocket and kept looking down. "I have asked the person who wrote this for permission to make it the official backbone of this show and to publicize it. They have agreed. And needless to say, we've already been working on how we're incorporating it, right Mac?"**

**McKian nodded on the stage, still behind the desk. "Yep. Hey, I'm lonely up here!"**

**Everyone snickered. I rolled my eyes playfully. "Fine, I'm coming." I got back on the stage and sat on the edge of it. "If you're still lonely, you come sit down here."**

**Mac shrugged and jumped over the desk, landing right by me. "Okay, all better."**

**More laughter.**

**I smiled. "See? What I just read to you is what a Renegade is. We don't just do things for our own good. We do things to help others. And if that's too much for you, then I suggest you forget you ever set foot in here."**

**McKian nodded his agreement and we stood up. "We don't have easy lives," he stated, looking me in the eye, then looking back out at the crowd. "Life isn't supposed to be easy. It's supposed to challenge you and to mold you into something better. And helping others out definitely doesn't make life easier. But it makes it better in the long run. So why just care about only your interests and using your talents to help yourself, when you could use them to improve the lives of so many others out there?"**

* * *

Beck smirked as the screen glowing over McKian's watch faded into nothing. "Wow. Beats my job."

Paige smirked as well. "Which one?"

Everyone laughed, except Tron, who was staring at me. "You know him?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I know Alan."

Paige got serious again. "And you're a User! You're the one CLU's been looking for!" She turned to Mac. "You said you didn't know about any Users running around the Grid."

"I don't." McKian's eyes twinkled mischievously. "I know of one running around Argon though."

Everyone laughed again, and Tron smiled a little, but only for a second. "You've known Alan-One… all this time?"

I nodded. "He's really the only reason no one's found out about Mac yet."

"Found out what? that he visits the Grid?" Paige guessed. "You're a User, right?"

Mac shook his head. "No, I'm a program that wound up in the User world on accident." He blushed. "And now remembering the first time I met your dear friend Alan…"

I patted his shoulder and smiled at him. He looked really upset by what had almost happened; he still wished it had never happened. But, thinking about it, it was more humorous than horrific.

Tron frowned. "Why, what happened?"

Mac gritted his teeth. "Skigh, you wanna take that one?"

I patted his arm again. "McKian almost killed him because he got scared."

Paige and Beck shrugged in sync. "That would be a little scary," Beck commented, smiling at Mac, trying to make him feel a little better. Beck still looked shot. He needed a lot more rest.

I was relieved as Mac smiled shyly back. "He wasn't scared though, was he?"

"No, he was just concerned about you waking up and having no clue where you were." I grinned at him. "You had to see his face when he found out you nearly got shot."

"You talked to him on the phone! You couldn't see his face!" Mac laughed. "But I can definitely imagine his face."

I laughed, and finally Tron did as well.

…

"We have a problem."

I was really getting tired of Tron saying that- it never meant anything good. "What?"

"CLU wants you-" he pointed to Paige "-back. And if he gets you back, he'll derezz you. Or torture you first, then derezz you."

Beck was finally standing, and glaring at the picture of CLU on the computer. "Great… so what do we do?"

I glanced at McKian. "Are you-"

Mac nodded. "We might be able to make sure she can't get arrested."

* * *

_-longer chapter! finally!_

_thanks for all the reviews and support, guys! it means a lot to me :) i like hearing what you guys think, so please leave a review! :)_

_now... i gotta work on drawing J.D. and RAM :)_


	13. Chapter 12

**PART THREE: WORTH IT ALL**

**"Hey, won't you listen to me now? It makes no difference if I wish upon a star. The only absolute is that the Word of Life is written on my heart…" -Michael W. Smith**

* * *

(Skigh's POV)

"Where are we?"

Paige was staring at the living room in awe. "And what did you two just do?"

I blushed; I was pretty sure I was grinning like an idiot, too. "We'll explain that later."

Glancing at Mac, his face was red as well. He smirked. "Um, right now, we should probably see where Knight-"

"SOME ONE, PLEASE TURN OFF THE STUPID JACK HAMMERS!"

McKian shrugged. "-is."

Knight rushed into the room, nearly whacking his kinda small foot off the grey leather couch. "Good night! Don't those things have a volume cont-" He stopped mid-sentence and froze. "She ain't sleeping' in our room!"

McKian rolled his eyes, his glowing and black suit transforming back to a green shirt and black shorts, nearly matching the Grid suit. "No duh. We'll figure that out later." He jumped, nearly hitting the ceiling, as another round of throbbing vibration jarred the building. "What's going on?"

Knight bit his dark lip; started worrying that blood was gonna come gushing out. "Uh, Skigh?"

"What?" I asked nervously. That tone… that worried, nervousness-filled tone of his… never good.

Ever.

Knight scratched the back of his head, still pinching his lip between his very light teeth. "Someone wanted to help you and…" he grimaced, "expand the parking lot, and other stuff, so…" he took a deep breath, "your brother's out there."

Crud. "What?!"

"Yeah, he figured that, if I may quote him, 'I think that this place needs some extra stuff, and I wanna support my sister.' "

Hm, the whole support bit was nice and all, but Alex was here, the one place in the world he did NOT need to be at right now. "Okay, first, we gotta keep you," I turned to Paige, hearing a little nervousness in my voice that made my stomach churn, "hidden for now. Come on."

…

"I'm already wearing my suit though. Why do I need these?"

Man, now I knew how Alan felt trying to explain to McKian what a normal eighteen year old guy would've already known.

And Paige was not making this any easier.

Her new suit, completely void of orange or red, was covered in a blue shirt and a pair of my light blue gym shorts, which were pretty short. She kept playing with the soft material. "I have my suit on now. Isn't that enough?"

Shook my head, my long hair falling in my eyes. "In a little while, your suit is going to disappear. And it's better if you have something over it now to avoid another issue later… or just put it off."

"What issue? Is something wrong?" Paige kept running her fingers through her longer, purple-brown hair.

And she'd already developed a nervous habit. Already starting to fit in.

Hopefully Alex would stay outside with the blasted jack hammers that threatened to rip my ears to tiny shreds. I smiled at Paige. "Nothing's wrong. It's just that- uh, maybe you should sit down; good grief, I don't know how you walk in those heels- there's some things that either I or… someone else… will need to explain to you and…" wow, this was overwhelmingly awkward. "In a few hours, depending, that suit's gonna disappear and we will just… figure this all out then."

Paige nodded and rubbed the purple blanket on my bed. "Your room has a lot of color. So does the whole place. But why is there orange here?" She started crawling up in a ball on the bed, shaking either from fear or anger.

"In this world, orange is just a color. It doesn't really symbolize the color of an army or anything like that," I explained gently, watching as Paige uncurled from her protective ball; she looked a little older than McKian, maybe nineteen.

If Beck came into this world, how old was he gonna be?

So many questions…

Paige sat on my bed. "That room with the grey and blue swirly tiles… what is that called again?"

"A bathroom," I answered, still smiling at her. "For now, just stay put. Don't leave my room, unless there's an emergency. My brother can't see-"

My alarm clock buzzed and Paige squealed. "What's that? An emergency?"

Stabbed my finger into the button that turned the black and green glowing shell off; probably was gonna need another new one soon; there was a crack in it, and the button was sticking. "No, it's my alarm clock. It's fine."

Paige nodded and relaxed. A little at least. "Okay, I'll stay here."

…

"Alex, dear brother of mine, how've you been?" I smiled at him and fought to keep my nauseous feeling from keeping Paige hidden long enough from bubbling up my throat and spraying a cheeseburger over his green shirt and black shorts.

Alex grinned. "Hey, Skigh, where have you been?" He hugged me and kept grinning. "You must have a lot to do. Haven't been here in a week, and that's just this time."

I shrugged innocently. "Well, got a lot to do in this life, and I wanna make it all fit before I wind up six feet under."

My adoptive brother laughed, his dark hair falling in his grey eyes. "Hey, I want you to come outside and take a look at this. Hey, McKian," he waved Mac over, and I noticed Mac cringe, frightened over the fact that his secret could come out if Paige was discovered, "you too!" Alex just smiled nicely at him.

I hadn't seen that smile in a while…

…

"What did you do?"

Alex grinned. "You have an empty lot parked next to this place. What do you think I did?"

I smirked. "I'm guessing bought it."

"Exactly… well, that's not the half of it."

McKian just looked around; his eyes glowed as he brushed his haircut of his face, sweat starting to roll down his temples in the almost July heat. "So, is that what it looks like?"

Alex grinned and nodded, sweat pooling at the tips of his hair. "Yep. That's a pool. I'm having that hooked onto the back of the auditorium, and they only need three more days for all of this."

"Speaking of all of this," I started, a little in awe, "what's the rest of this?"

"Well, I'm making your parking lot bigger, putting a fence around the whole thing, and that there is a garage for the Roadster."

Right off the glass and metal enclosure for the pool (which was massive, so stinking awesomely massive), there was a structure big enough for ten cars! "Alex…" how much did this cost? Couldn't even get the words out… "Thanks."

Alex hugged me; no, more like crushed me. The pain was back that I'd had on the Grid. I hugged him back, not wanting him to notice. "Anything for you. You deserve this."

I was glad he was still practically smothering me. I couldn't… I didn't…

I wasn't worth all this.

Alex's one arm left my back and I felt him hug McKian as well.

This could be good… at least I hoped it could.

* * *

"Another one?"

Alan rolled his blue eyes, his t-shirt definitely catching me off guard. This guy… yeesh; I was used to the suits and the leather shoes, not jeans and sneakers.

And neither were Jump Drive and RAM.

Apparently, his non-dressy shoes weren't as appealing. Alan laughed as J. D. ran his little lit up paws over his tongue frantically. "Maybe I should wear these more often."

I smirked. "Or maybe you just stepped in something that tastes like-"

"Back to the program," Alan cut me off, getting right to the point as usual; his arms crossed his chest and he looked down at me. "This is something you need to discuss this with… Paige? Is that it? And talking to McKian was one thing! But her?! Why should I, a guy, try to explain this?"

I sat down on the couch, for a second fearing I'd fall through it. Alan knew me well, but…

this could just seem really stinking stupid to him.

I covered my hands with my face, not even bothering to look up at Alan, who really towered over me now.

Felt the couch sink a little. "Skigh, I just don't know if I should be the one. I mean, you're a girl. I'm not. This is more in your territory. I-"

"I can't do it, Alan! I can't…" I finally just screamed. Tears poured out between my fingers as I mentally kicked myself. This was stupid- any normal person could've pulled this off without bursting in tears.

Something landed on my back, and I winced, the dull pain still there from earlier; it re-ignited and I shook. Hopefully Alan wouldn't catch on. I slowly uncovered my face and saw him gently rubbing my back. Man, maybe add a few codes to Tron's programming? "I forgot about that…" Alan nodded. "Sorry. I'll talk to her."

"It's okay," I managed to get out, staring at Alan. "Thanks. I know that it's not… no, I'll do it." I pushed myself up from the couch.

Alan grabbed me and pulled me back down. "No, I'll do it. It's fine. Just relax, okay?"

I nodded and sprawled out on the sofa, waiting until Alan had disappeared into my room. Paige's suit had disappeared, and (well.. probably better to be outside the door to my room at the moment) pulled out my inhaler, brushing some on the lint from my short's pocket off it and feebly shaking it. Every movement hurt.

Yay…

After getting the bitter tasting medicine into my lungs, I traded my inhaler for my cell phone in my pocket and flipped through the contacts. I found the one and hit send, my hands shaking from fear of this call. "Hello? Is Doctor Martin there?… Hello, Dr. Martin?… yeah, it's Skigh… exactly. So, when's a good time?… wait, you said tomorrow?… yeah, that'll work… thank you so much… sorry about- okay, i won't apologize if that's what you want… i'll be there… okay, bye."

Time to see how this went over at ten thirty tomorrow morning.


	14. Chapter 13

(Skigh's POV)

Sterile white walls.

Creepy instruments thrown all over the grey countertops.

Big cabinets that looked like they could possibly lead to Narnia.

I hated going to the doctors.

Speaking of doctors, mine, Doctor Marie Martin, was walking back into this freezer of a room, her tall, slender body accented by her pregnancy and her white coat. Her black hair fell over her shoulders and her dark skin made the room seem even lighter.

"Okay, the results are in and..." her voice trailed off. "Skigh, you might want to lay down for this. If you sit, I don't need you falling a bashing your head off the floor."

I shivered, and not from the fact that it was freezing in here and I wasn't wearing much. Laid down on the table, the paper beneath me crinkling. "What is it? I'm laying down now."

"Um... well, you've gained some weight, so that's a good sign. But you're still underweight, too much for my liking. But your asthma has gotten worse- I'm sure you know that already. But-"

"What's wrong?"

The doctor sighed. "I need to redo one of your surgeries... and it's not going to be a pretty one to redo."

"What do you mean? Which one?" There was one she couldn't undo, but...

No. She couldn't possibly mean-

"The surgery that you originally had wasn't going to stop anything- it was only going to hold it back. And now the pain you have is from infection from the botched surgery."

I sat up and stared at the floor. "Can't you just leave it? The pain's not that bad," I lied, trying to hold off on this.

"I'm sorry, Skigh, but your life has already been shortened extremely. Leaving this go could kill you."

I couldn't even look up at the doctor; I couldn't have the surgery again... once was more than enough.

Way more than enough.

I couldn't even wear certain shirts because of the scars there as well; I was terrified if anyone aside from Alex were to find out. And it was also kinda why I was scared of McKian possibly... no, he couldn't find out.

I couldn't let him.

She sighed as I looked up at her. "Has your boyfriend found out?"

"No. We're not-"

"I know that's not how you do things, but I wondered if he knew about either one."

I nodded. "He knows about one surgery, but not this one."

"Skigh, whoever supposedly repaired the damage only caused more. They didn't even make sure that you wouldn't wind up with an infection. Please..."

This was the question I was hoping I wouldn't have to ask her; but I had to ask, "If I don't have the surgery, how much time will I have left?"

"About six months with the rate of the infection. It's not a cancer or anything like that, but it's starting to spread, which is why you have pain." She threw down her clipboard. "There are shards of God knows what left behind, and they're going to kill you if I don't get rid of them."

"How long do I have with the surgery?"

The doctor sighed. "You told me never to answer that."

"I know, I know..." I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed as well, shivering from the cool air from the various vents. "I'll consider it. But don't tell Alex anything."

"Skigh, your brother deserves to know about this. He is signed on to receive your information, which you already know."

Yeah, but I think you're forgetting... "What about doctor-patient confidentiality?" I asked, my voice shaking.

I watched as she drummed her fingers on the counter, her nails clacking off it, for several moments before finally replying with, "Fine. But he'll have to know when you have the surgery."

"Okay." That was not even remotely okay; but that was the only way I could get my clothes back on and cover up the scars crossing my chest, not to mention the rest of them elsewhere.

"And I'll need to know about the surgery by next Friday. If you want to have it done, I can get you in that Saturday and get this over with. I know, it's not something that you enjoy, and neither do I, but you need to consider the possibility."

"How long for recovery?"

Doctor Martin smiled. "A week tops. I'm only cleaning out the scars and patching them up so they won't be a problem. I can't remove them, but I can stop the infection and prolong your life."

I grinned back, hoping it looked convincing. "Alright. I'll let you know by next Friday- hey!" I glared. "That's only four days away!"

She smirked. "What? You agreed to it."

Rolled my eyes and laughed. "Fine. I'll call you in the next four days and let you know if I'm having this blasted thing done." This doctor was too nice to even attempt to argue with.

"You can get dressed again," the doctor said, smiling. "I don't think I have to tell you this, but no-"

"You're right- you don't." I laughed and pulled my red t-shirt down over my head, covering the low cut tank top; the doctor had let me keep that on, but it didn't hide much of anything as far as the scars went. I quickly slipped back into my grey shorts as well and got off the bed, my feet landing in my black high tops. "And probably no eating or drinking anything for twelve hours before the surgery either?"

Doctor Martin smirked. "Is that a yes?"

"That's a 'I'm just making sure I know what I'm supposed to do in case I agree to this,' " I said, smirking back.

* * *

…

* * *

(Mac's POV)

Something was up with Skigh.

Paige even noticed, her User skills developing pretty quickly… probably faster than I had, which I expected. She was smarter. She was quicker.

She was better.

But Skigh… what was wrong with her? She just seemed very scared, of something, and she was very quiet. Yeah, she was quiet sometimes, but never like this.

I was going to make sure she was okay. I loved her too much to not care.

I sat on the edge of her bed, running my hand through her long hair. She looked peaceful, not nervous like before.

What was wrong with her?

Before I could react, everything started going black in the already dark room.

Another accident with this… maybe third time was the charm.

* * *

**"Skigh?"**

**Skigh twisted in her sleep and groaned. She looked like she did in the last memory I'd accidentally invaded. Her hair was still very dark, black, and her skin was very, very white. She was also very tiny, in height...**

**and in weight.**

**Alex was sitting on the edge of her bed as she tossed and turned in her sleep, her ribs showing through her shirt. She kept trying to get away from Alex whenever he tried to brush her hair out of her eyes. "Skigh," he said, his voice really soft, "it's okay. It's just me."**

**"Don't hurt me!" Skigh screamed, rolling away from her adoptive brother again.**

**Alex sighed. He looked sad. "Skigh." He gently grabbed her shoulder and lifted her so she was laying in his lap. "You're alright."**

**Skigh stopped moving for a second, then twisted again, her eyes still closed.**

**Alex ran his hand through her hair and gently adjusted his grip so that he was able to hold her better. "Skigh, please wake up."**

**Skigh's eyes snapped open. She looked scared. "Where-"**

**Alex smiled at her. He was nice then, and he seemed to be almost as nice now. "You're okay."**

**She started shaking as she looked at the clock. "I-I woke y-you up."**

**"So?" Alex just kept smiling at her.**

**"I'm n-not supposed t-to wake you up," she mumbled, starting to cry. "I-I'm sorry." She cringed and closed her eyes as Alex reached up towards her face.**

**Alex just brushed more hair out of her eyes. "That's okay. I don't sleep much anyway." Now that probably wasn't true. From what I'd heard from Skigh, Alex snored. Loudly.**

**Skigh shivered and sat up in Alex's lap. She looked so small compared to him. She still did now. As Alex patted her one shoulder, she winced and gritted her teeth.**

**And Alex noticed. "I think now would be a good time to take a look at those bruises."**

**Skigh shivered more and shook her head. "I'm fine." She definitely didn't sound fine. She sounded tired. She sounded scared. Skigh had never sounded like this, unless she was having a nightmare.**

**"I need to know if you need to see a doctor," Alex said gently. "Please, let me take a look."**

**Skigh slowly nodded and stood up with Alex's help. He shook his head. "No, you should probably lay down. You're too weak to be moving around a lot." He stood up and let her lay down on the bed. "Probably on your stomach, unless there's more injuries there that I don't know about."**

**Skigh shook her head and rolled onto her stomach, still shaking.**

**Alex sighed again. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." He pulled on the collar of her shirt and knelt on the side of the bed, making sure he wasn't hurting her as he got a look at the bruises on her back. He gasped and let go of her shirt. "That's more than bruises."**

**"I know." Skigh didn't move, just laid on the bed.**

**Alex sighed. "Okay. how about having my girlfriend take a look?" He gently helped Skigh sit up. "She's nice, and she won't do anything to hurt you."**

**Skigh didn't answer, just stared at the floor, her new black shoes from Alex right under her feet.**

**"I want you to be okay," Alex explained. "She'll help you."**

**Skigh slowly looked up at him and nodded. "O-okay."**

**The memory seemed to flash past Skigh and Griffyn, and I only saw glimpses of Griffyn smiling at Skigh before walking into her room and the door shutting behind her. There was nothing for a while, then Griffyn finally walked out, and nearly walked into Alex.**

**"How is she?" Alex asked. "I figured it would be better if you took on that."**

**Griffyn's brown curly hair bounced as she sighed. "She's in terrible shape. I don't think going to a doctor is a good idea. She freaked out when I mentioned maybe seeing one."**

**"How bad is it, though?" Alex asked. I noticed that the sparkly ring on Griffyn's hand now wasn't there in the memory. Skigh. Alan and Knight had said that the sparkly ring thing symbolized something, but I forgot what.**

**Griffyn hesitated. "She's carved up pretty bad. And I don't think any scar cream can get rid of her scars. She's severely underweight, but I think you noticed that."**

**"There's more than that, isn't there?"**

**Griffyn nodded. "You already know about the one thing, so I'll just skip that. But she's terrified. She needs to have her ankle looked at- I think it might be a sprain that went unnoticed. Just make sure she gets enough food and lots of rest for a while."**

**Alex nodded. "What's Ian gonna say when he sees this?"**

**Griffyn smiled. "I think he'll love her. She's too cute for him not to."**

**Alex laughed. "Did she take a lot of convincing, or-"**

**"She was scared at first, but she seemed to see that I was just trying to help her. She's asleep now, but she needs to eat something. I can tell the poor kid's starving."**

**Alex sighed. "I have no idea how to do this."**

**Griffyn just smiled. "Really? Looks like you're doing well so far."**

**Alex looked down. "I noticed that she's had another surgery, though. That one was far more noticable. What happened to her?"**

**"She's never going to fully recover from that either." Griffyn sighed. "She's... so broken. And I think that whoever did the surgery screwed it up royally. She's scarred so bad..." She took a deep breath. "I think that's why she's so scared to go to a doctor and have them possibly see how horribly done that surgery was."**

**"So, it was just a repair surgery? To fix damage?"**

**Griffyn rolled her eyes. "That surgery didn't repair anything! It just scarred her worse! I'd like to choke whoever did that to her."**

**"So would I."**


	15. Chapter 14

(Skigh's POV)

There was someone in my bed.

I didn't have to open my eyes to know that; the arm draped over my stomach was enough to have that much knowledge.

The last time there was someone in my bed was four years ago, and I gasped as I remembered the feeling of an already blood crusted pocket-knife at my throat.

But this time…

No pocket knife.

No blood.

No pain.

No haunting laugher.

I opened my eyes and relaxed as I saw Mac's calm, innocent face inches from mine, his blue-black hair (almost all some shade of blue by now) blending in with my pillow. His hand moved and brushed over my side, his fingers still tickling me even though my green shirt stood in their way. He mumbled something and his green eyes fluttered open, staring at me. He smiled, and the green irises lit up like Christmas lights.

Smiled back and slowly wrapped my fingers around his hand. Why was he in my room? Had he just wanted to make sure I was okay? Had he just come in here a few minutes ago?

Had he-

He smiled sheepishly. "I'm really sorry."

"What did you see?" I wasn't upset with him; I couldn't get upset with him, even if I tried to force myself. But I was hoping he hadn't seen too far back into my mess of memories. He didn't need those mental scars.

Mac stared at me, his eyes emanating concern. "I really didn't mean it- I swear!"

"I know," I said quietly, brushing some hair out of his eyes as I rolled over to face him. "It's okay."

He bit his pale lip and looked away. "You have… another injury… don't you?"

I nodded slowly. So he'd seen that… or part of it; that memory was a little blurred, but I do know that I wasn't sleeping when I could hear Alex and Griffyn's conversation through my high tech bedroom door. "Yeah…" I couldn't tell him… I couldn't.

Could I?

"McKian…" I winced, feeling the pain as I tried to sit up and wound up leaning on McKian's chest, his shirt the grey one with a few of Knight's infamous coffee stains, "I…" I took a deep breath, then tried to force it out. "I have to have surgery again for that."

Mac rubbed my hand. "What exactly are you having surgery on? It didn't make any sense to me… " He stopped. "No, wait. If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to. Sorry."

I sighed. "It's okay." Gee, I had to break that habit. "It's just that this particular injury isn't…" I sighed again, swallowing the lump in my throat. "It's not too good."

McKian's eyes moved away from my face, then down my body and the blankets over it, then back up to my face. I blushed, still not used to that. "I'll still love you," he said, smiling. "And I want you to be okay." He kissed my forehead and his smile grew. He gently pushed me back down and knelt on the edge of the bed. "So… will it hurt if I do this?"

I laughed as he started tickling my side, grinning at me and laughing as well. "Nope, that doesn't hurt!" I laughed harder, then finally stopped as he pulled his hand away moments later.

"Okay," Mac helped me sit up and held me on his lap, his hand rubbing my back soothingly. "So, are you having this surgery?"

My turn to nearly bite my lip off. "I don't know. I honestly don't know if it's a good idea or not."

"If it'll help you, please have it," Mac pleaded, hugging me against him. "I really want you to be okay. Please."

I thought for a moment. I really did need this surgery… I looked up at him. "Okay, I'll have it."

…

"Knight?"

"Yeah? And no, I didn't spill any more coffee!"

I rolled my eyes, sitting at the kitchen table after calling Doctor Martin- no, standing now after Mac had upgraded my phone (talk about an upgrade- the thing was a mini supercomputer) and then sprawled out on the couch, fast asleep after this morning- and wishing he wasn't shouting from over my head. Him being up in the sound room on the stage (Alex had enlarged that, too, and it was very impressive- blue walls, new carpet instead of dark hard wood, more equipment) wasn't helping things. 'Where's Paige?"

"You already know my age!" he shouted back.

"PAIGE, BRIGHT WONDER!" I smacked my forehead. "Where's Paige?!"

I heard him rolling around in his new chair; now, dear brother Alex, this is why Knight doesn't get swivel chairs; he becomes the three year old that can't get over the fact that the chair can, wait for it, SPIN. "Uh, I thought she was downstairs!"

Crud… I still needed to create her files and backstop them… with people that were no longer around to answer any possible questions. I glanced around frantically, seeing J. D. fast asleep in the corner with RAM's purple paw on his head. Yeah, super cute.

But focusing on Paige.

Something fell in the bathroom. "Never mind, Knight!" I yelled.

"Yes, I am perfectly alright!" came his muffled reply.

I rolled my eyes. "Bright wonder," I muttered, rushing to the bathroom.

The swirled tiles reflected the blue door swinging open; for such a small space under the stage, this bathroom was huge.

And I'd found Paige.

Paige was playing with a tube of toothpaste, squirting it everywhere. Well, at least she hadn't done what Mac had the first time and eaten it. She looked up at me, a little flustered. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

I smiled at her and grabbed her purple toothbrush from the white holder that held all four of ours- she'd nearly had a heart attack when I almost gave her an orange one on accident. "Here." I pried the now half-used tube out of her hand and squeezed some of the blue-white stuff onto the brush. As I handed it back to her, she took a step back, afraid of it. "It's okay. It's not gonna hurt."

Paige slowly took the toothbrush from me. "Why did that guy come in the room before? The guy who looks like Tron?"

"Alan?"

She nodded and tried turning on the sink. That she had down. "Couldn't you have told me about… that? I mean, it was just a little awkward having Alan-"

"He's probably better at explaining that whole thing to you than I am," I said quietly, trying to dig my short fingernails into the black rock countertop as the pain returned.

"But he's not… I don't know what I'm trying to say… but it just felt a little weird."

I sighed. I should've been the one… "Yeah, I know. Sorry."

"Why couldn't you tell me?" Paige asked, sounding super innocent.

"Because it was better for me to."

I whirled around to see Alan leaning on the door frame. "One word: KNOCK."

"Two words: I DID." Alan smirked. I laughed for a moment, but felt really bad about the whole thing with Paige. "And Skigh's… not in charge of that area. I am."

I looked at him in shock and relief. "Thank you," I mouthed, really not wanting to explain this all to Paige, at least not now.

But thank God for good old Alan. He was a great friend.

And he was practically a father figure for me.

Thank the good Lord for Alan Bradley.

* * *

_-thanks to PrincessKai317, The Altar and the Door, and Praise You In The Storm for the reviews :)_


	16. Chapter 15

(Mac's POV)

Paige had been with us for a month now, and it was early August. We'd been jumping back and forth between worlds, which was great, but what was even better was every time we did, I got to kiss Skigh.

And that was the best feeling I ever got.

In that month, we'd "vandalized" every inch of Tesler's base- inside and out- and Argon Square, noticed more and more programs standing up- even if it was just something small- and Beck's co-workers were among them, helped Paige better understand the User world, and…

Kept trying to avoid Alex.

Skigh had found something interesting, at least, that's what she called it. Paige and I shared a similar code, only mine more complex and flexible. It wasn't common for programs to share a code like that.

Paige's full name was Paige Kristen Smith, and she was born March fourth. I was a little shaky on the rest of it, but once again, Skigh had left no trace of parents, and this time, she'd thrown in something about being "home schooled", which was supposed to answer a lot of questions according to her.

I just hoped she was right.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, am I?"

Skigh laughed and wrapped her arms around my soaking wet back. "No. It doesn't hurt anymore," she said quietly, her head on my chest.

I hugged her back, thankful that she'd had the surgery. Alex had taken her with him for the recovery week, and that was horrible for me. I could call her, but I couldn't see her.

So, during that week, Paige and I disappeared to go help Beck and Tron. I hadn't told Paige the full extent of what Skigh had done, mainly because it was a jumble of big words that I couldn't even begin to understand.

But I did say that Skigh was having an injury looked at, and Beck was worried. He was doing a lot better as well, back to knocking out dozens of guards without getting derezzed in simulations.

"You sure you're okay?" I asked, making sure Skigh was okay. She nodded, still pressed against me. She was soaked too.

And that was normal, considering we were standing in the pool that Alex had paid for.

The guy seemed like he'd never go broke. The pool was amazing, lighting up, massive, a hot tub off to the side (I was scared of it at first), black and red tiles on the floor to match the auditorium's outside, and a mix of grey walls and very thick glass to also match the auditorium. It was really nice, but I was scared to even think about the cost of it all.

Skigh smiled at me, her eyes glowing that pretty gold color. "Mine."

I laughed and gently splashed her. She let go of me, and fell back in the water, laughing.

Paige laughed too. She was sitting on a grey chair with lots of waterproof pillows and holding a magazine. Turns out she loved reading, even if most of it made no sense to her. "Hey, can we buy this?"

"Buy what?" Knight, listening to music in the chair next to her, looked over at the magazine and smirked. "Um, I'd say yes, but-"

"Shut it, bright wonder," Skigh joked, swimming to the edge of the pool and pulling herself up so she leaned on the red streak of tile "What is it?" Paige turned the magazine and I wasn't too shocked. It seemed like something she'd want, considering that she was really new around here. Skigh didn't say anything for a moment, then said, "Well, that's fine with me."

Knight chuckled. "Yeah, so why aren't you wearing a bikini?"

This was going to be interesting.

Skigh rolled her eyes. "What's wrong with you? That's a two piece swim suit, not a bikini, bozo!"

I laughed as Knight rolled his eyes too. "Same thing."

"Okay, you put one on and tell me how they're the same."

Skigh just smirked as Knight shook his head. "I'll pass. But maybe you should-"

"Shut up if you value your tongue being in your head? Good idea," Skigh retorted.

I understood why she wouldn't wear that, or a bikini. Her scars were probably something she didn't want to reveal to everyone, and I had only seen a few.

The swimsuit she had on now was all blue, and it was a skirt at the end, two pieces in all.

And I liked it.

Skigh sighed, then smiled quickly as Paige turned to look at her. "We can get that."

Paige smiled back and kept looking through her magazine.

The swimsuit she'd shown Skigh was green, and the top part came down to the girl in the picture's waist, showing some of her stomach, which was okay. And the bottom was a skirt.

As everything returned to happy and laughing like before, I noticed something on Skigh's side when the water pulled up the top part of her swim suit, showing a nasty gash on her stomach. Knight had left to get some food, and Paige was asleep on the chair, curled up under the air conditioning vent above her. I swam over to Skigh and stared at her in concern. "Skigh?"

"Yeah?"

"What happened to your side?"

Skigh flinched and looked away from me, the scars on her arm exposed, and those on her hands as well. "You saw that?"

I nodded. "Skigh, what happened?"

She hesitated and bit her lip before showing me the gash. Even though I could only see about two inches of her skin, I saw that it went under the bottom piece of her suit and stretched up higher under the top piece. I gasped, seeing how notable it was. "It's from… I don't even remember how I got that one," she mumbled, tears starting to run down her cheeks.

I didn't mean to make her cry. I reached up and gently wiped them away, replacing them with pool water. She smiled and hugged me again. "I'm sorry," I said, rubbing her back, feeling more scars under her swim suit.

"It's fine." Skigh looked up at me, her eyes glowing again. "If you really like that swim suit, I'll wear one," she said quietly.

"No, if you're uncomfortable with it, then don't." I smiled at her. "I like the one you have on now."

Skigh blushed as I looked as the suit again, the very high cut top tied off at the shoulders. "You sure?"

I nodded. "Yes." This one was more her style. That other one… considering that Paige wore stuff that was more dressy, and she was even wearing a skirt now, it wasn't Skigh's style.

This one was nice.

More than nice… perfect.

...

"So, how are you doing that again?"

Paige and I had our suits from the Grid activated, and she was trying to figure out how I was creating more graffiti for next time we visited the Grid, which was probably in a couple days. I shrugged. "I don't know. The watch kinda does it."

Skigh smiled at me as she sat on the couch, RAM sniffing her ear and perched on her shoulder. Jump Drive was trying to crawl up her, licking her neck, and Skigh was laughing. "Okay, that tickles!"

Paige grinned. "Is it always like this around here?"

I shrugged again. "Sometimes… you missed all the excitement."

Skigh snorted. "Be glad you missed it."

"Are you two famous?" Paige asked, still getting a gist of everything.

Skigh nodded. "Yeah, sort of."

Paige kept watching me edit the code, and Knight finally walked out of the bathroom, his frizzy hair now shaved into almost nothing. It looked better. "Okay, what's with all the lights?"

"We're working, what does it look like?" Paige said.

Knight sighed. "Okay, you have fun with your light up stuff. I'm crashing early."

"Good night," Skigh and I said at the same time, making Paige laugh.

After a while, we had music playing, quiet enough for Knight to sleep. But the guy could sleep through just about anything, so…

**"We're passengers aboard the train, silent little lambs amidst the pain. That's no longer good enough. And when it's time to speak our faith, we use a language no one can explain. That's no longer good enough…"**

Paige jumped and kept turning her head as the music played from the computer, the mass of a super computer. I grinned. Her and Beck… that could end well.

**"…For the world to know the truth there can be no greater proof than to live the life, live the life. There's no love as quite as pure- there's no pain we can't endure if we live the life, live the life. Be a light for all to see- for every act of love will set you free…"**

Skigh was still holding the bunnies, and she looked at ease, her grey shirt and shorts matching the couch. She looked happy.

Now if things could keep working in our favor.

* * *

_-thanks, PrincessKai317 and The Altar and the Door for reviewing :) it really helps to know what everyone thinks of the story. even if it's short, any reviews are inspiring and they mean a lot to me. thanks :)  
_

_lyrics from Michael W. Smith "Live the Life"_


	17. Chapter 16

(Skigh's POV)

"This is bad."

I had to agree with Tron.

Being back on the Grid, we expected to spread some more code and get on CLU's blasted nerves.

So, let me ask, what in God's name were we doing, watching Tesler round up anyone suspected of siding with Tron and keeping them held in Argon Square?

McKian sighed next to me, his dark helmet and suit matching Tron's' Beck's was the usual white, but I still wasn't sure that was such a good idea for him to be in all white… when we were supposed to be blending it with the inky blackness around us, or the orange glow of the ominous Recognizers.

"This stinks," I muttered, watching as three more programs were handcuffed and thrown into a massive hexagon of twenty foot high orange walls with about twenty other programs.

Beck sighed. "At least Zed and Mara aren't here."

I nodded, then felt my stomach twist as I saw Beck's friends being thrown inside with some of their coworkers. "Spoke too soon."

McKian tapped his watch and made the bright glow decrease to a faint pulsing blue. "He hasn't checked their discs to make sure they're guilty of treason."

"He hasn't scanned their discs yet?" Tron sounded shocked. "That's the first thing that you'd think he'd do... if he was smart enough."

McKian snickered and tapped his watch again, the glow becoming dimmer. "Well, it's Tesler. What do you expect?"

Mac was right; Tesler was no Einstein. The guy didn't even know which way was up half the time- he just knew he wanted to be above everyone. And his ego... so full of hot air that if I poked him with a needle, he'd probably pop like a balloon.

Paige didn't say anything, just watched as Dyson and Pavel appeared, Pavel, as usual, trying to appear as innocent as possible. His sickening voice twisted through the suddenly freezing air, and I wanted to puke. "What should we do with them now, sir?"

Dyson held up his hand, irritated immediately; one thing him and Tron still had in common apparently as Tron's breathing turned into an annoyed growl. "Well, what would you do, Commander?"

Okay, that was a weird exchange. Pavel just smirked at their captives, particularly Zed and Mara. "Well, we could send them to the games."

"Too easy." Dyson's glare made some of the programs look away from his hideous scowl; Tron was right- CLU had made Dyson harder to look at.

"Interrogate them?"

Dyson shook his head and groaned. "No."

Pavel finally lost his stuck-up composure. "Then what are you going to do with them?" he screamed, losing control before realizing who he was speaking to. "...sir?"

"Use them."

All five of us gasped, the first noise from Paige aside from her distorted breathing, as CLU stepped forward, into the center of the Square. He looked at the prisoners, not evilly though, and just smiled at Dyson and Pavel. "If the Renegade is really for them, he'll come and rescue them. If not..." his face contorted into evil as he concluded his sentence with, "then they die."

That was so stinking sadistic! And knowing CLU-

"And," he smirked at the programs, "it won't be a quick death either."

-there it was.

Beck shook his head. "Jerk."

I just nodded, knowing about a million and one other names that fit CLU's sorry butt at that moment, but since I don't curse, I didn't say them. I pushed them all away, just trying to figure out a way to rescue the programs.

McKian's watch flickered to a bright yellow. "Okay, there's a weak spot in the walls," he said, pointing to the one farthest away. "It has a glitch, and if we could destabilize it, then the rest of the walls fall too."

Tron shook his head. "Too risky."

Paige shrugged. "Not really. There are five of us, and we can take CLU and Dyson easily."

"But maybe not Pavel."

Everyone turned towards Mac. "What?" Tron asked.

McKian's lips flattened into a thin line. "He has it."

"Has what?" Tron asked again.

I gasped. "The upgrade." I looked over the edge of the building again, and sure enough, as Pavel's back turned towards us, the orange glow of the deadly upgrade circled the inside of his disc. "Oh, great, that just makes this worse."

"The upgrade?" Tron looked from McKian to Beck, probably not too thrilled behind that mask. "Didn't you destroy it?"

Beck nodded. "I did, I swear!" He looked over the edge and his hands shook slightly. "But how-"

"It regenerates itself," Mac cut in, trying to get Tron to stop being mad at Beck for something he hadn't known would happen. "It's just about impossible to destroy."

Tron's steady growl faded. "We have to get that back," he stated, suddenly the weapon becoming his main concern. "If Tesler-"

"Pavel gave him a fake copy of the upgrade. As far as Tesler knows, he has the real one," Mac interrupted again. "As much fun as it is to talk about that stupid upgrade, those programs are gonna end up derezzed if we don't come up with something."

I glanced down at the handcuffed programs. "Mac, can you hear them?"

McKian pulled himself over the edge of the high building, leaning on his elbows, and mentally triggered the watch. He nodded. "The Occupation flattened their homes... with any other programs who they weren't hunting down left inside."

Beck joined us at the edge, his pale knuckles turning white as he squeezed the roof.

To think that Zed and Mara, and the rest of Beck's co-workers, had had their new homes reduced to heaps of rubble... and that anyone else was just killed, left in those buildings to die... I shivered, trying to get a decent breath as my scars felt like fire.

Tron came up to the edge, as well as Paige. "We need a distraction, something major."

McKian chuckled softly. "Way ahead of you. Just say the word and you'll have your distraction."

I was a little scared to know what he already had set up. I knew he'd been hacking the security in CLU's ship (formerly Tesler's) and rewriting their command codes, but that wasn't a distraction for now; what in the world could he possibly be planning?

Tron's helmet reflected the ghostly orange glow as he turned to face me. "You stay here. You're still recovering."

How in the world had he known that?! Well, it wasn't really recovery; more like not straining or stressing anything for about a month after the blasted surgery. Not wanting to upset him further (seriously, if his helmet was off, smoke would probably be pouring out of his ears), I just nodded. A ticked off Tron did not need to become an angry Tron. Wait... if he did, could he turn into the Hulk or something? Now that would be awesome right about now!

Tron motioned seconds later for Mac to create his distraction.

And it was a pretty major one at that.

The Square's black buildings turned bright white, white hot squares of light racing up from the walkways to the buildings. Then little blue streams of code flew over the white, forming "TRON LIVES" all over in little splotches... and also wound up on Pavel and Dyson. In the distance, CLU's ship faded from dismal orange and black to blinding white and livid blue. A nice little surprise for CLU later.

And I laughed as it inched up CLU, his yellow lights losing their intimidating edge.

Tron and Beck left off the ledge, followed by Paige and McKian, hopping across roofs until finally landing in the Square. The Square flooded with thick smoke, the orange lights vanishing under it.

I stayed still not able to see anything below-

or hear it.

Something was wrong. I stood up quickly, immediately feeling dizzy. The few circuits on my suit flickered, and I fell to my knees, lightning shooting through me. As my teary eyes found a way to close, I saw a bright glow circling around me; and I felt calm- for no real reason.

The pain faded sometime later, and I realized I was laying on the roof, knees curled up to my chest. I stood up and surprisingly wasn't dizzy.

What happened?

I looked over the edge of the building, suddenly realizing just how high up we were, and was thankful I didn't have a fear of heights; if I fell from here, my hands couldn't possibly stop my fall-

Wait…

I stared at my right hand, the suit there invaded by a small screen. "What in the world?!" It was an inch on each side, and it had a flat silver rim.

This was new…

I tapped the screen and it lit up blue- the same color as Mac's. "Okay, so what do you do?" The blue screen divided into three sections:

Transport lit up in white.

Code Creation in green

And…

Ultimatum lit up in red.

Before I could think it through, my fingers had hit the glowing red word on the small screen.

Someone screamed, more specifically Pavel. The smoke had cleared and he was fighting McKian, who was an excellent fighter with his watch flipped on.

But that upgrade was pretty powerful, and that power had definitely gone to his head.

I stared at Pavel, wishing I could stop him. The guy was nuts, with or without the upgrade. I raised my hands as Mac's mask crackled as Pavel punched his chin.

And the ground fell out from under him.

Pavel fell into the subspaces under the city, the abandoned tunnels and structures breaking beneath him. I gasped, staring at my hands as they glowed a faint blue. "Was that… me?!" I hit the red switch again and my hands stopped glowing.

Yeah… that was me.

I watched as Tron and Beck hit the weak spot in the walls, their discs slashing them to orange cubes. They helped the prisoners get rid of the handcuffs, Beck helping Zed and Mara.

Figured it was time to get down from here. I decided to test out the whole ultimatum thing and hit it again; I jumped from the roof, and if Tron was watching, he'd probably thought I'd lost it.

But as I fell, everything seemed to slow down and I stepped onto the ground like I was just walking. That was pretty awesome… and pretty creepy.

I stared up at the sky for a moment, the clear blue inevitably not answering me as I asked, "What are You up to now?" I grinned behind my mask and walked over to Tron and Beck and McKian and all the other programs.

As I suspected, the majority of them were from the garage. Zed and Mara were talking with Dash, and I glared as I heard Mara say, "And, as always, Beck's never around! Maybe he's-"

"For the occupation?" Dash finished, rolling his eyes. "That's about the only logical thing I can think of."

I winced as Beck shook his head and started walking away. Just because Beck "wasn't" here didn't give them any right to say that. I marched over to Dash and for a second was tempted to ditch the mask, but didn't. "Just because someone's not here doesn't mean they support a bunch of lunatics. And talking about people behind their back isn't right either. Do you understand me?"

"Who are you?" Dash just smirked. "You're just super short."

"And you're just super annoying," I shot back, defending Beck my main priority at the moment. Crossed my arms and chuckled.

Zed stared at me, not like I was crazy, but like he agreed with me. Did he know more than he was letting on? If he did…

Mara glared at Dash. "That wasn't what I meant at all!" She sighed. "I just wish he was here."

"Here? Being arrested with everyone else?"

Mara sighed again. "Good point. Wait…" she pointed at me. "Who are you?"

* * *

Let them go.

Tron had let them go.

And now, I wondered how that was going to go over, considering they'd already been arrested.

Mac laughed. "Okay, they're officially all imbeciles." His watch flickered to black and he smirked. "I can not believe…" he started laughing.

"What?"

"CLU didn't record a single name from anyone he arrested," Mac answered, flopping down by me on the stairs in Tron's hide out. "So now they're just… stuck finding a place to live in that hasn't fallen down."

I sighed. "Man, I can't believe Dash had the nerve to say that about Beck." Thankfully Beck, Tron and Paige were all out on patrols; finally, nothing really going on.

McKian bit his lip, already knowing the whole story. "Since when has Beck ever shown any loyalty to the stinking Occupation?"

"Never!" I leaned against his shoulder and pressed my face into his neck.

McKian laughed. "Did you see what happened to Pavel, though? That was awesome!"

"What? Him mysteriously falling through the ground?" Okay, how was this going to go over?

"Yeah," Mac nodded as he spoke, "but I'd just like to know…" his voice trailed off as he stared at my hand on his knee. "What is that?"

I shrugged nervously. "Uh… I'm not sure," I admitted, looking at the now black screen on my wrist. "But I was testing it and it works."

"So you took the ground out from under Pavel?"

I nodded; Alan's reaction was going to be priceless, but McKian was handling it well- as expected.

"Thanks." He kissed my forehead and grinned. "Does that do anything else?"

I activated it and showed him. His eyes glowed at the sight of the "Transport" section, the bright white reflecting in his eyes. "Is that…" he started his question, grinning, "what I think it is?"

"I don't know, but I'm hoping it is." I smiled at him, suddenly seeing what he was getting at. "Oh, no you don't…"

McKian just shrugged and… oh, Good God, no… his innocent smile appeared. "What?"


	18. Chapter 17

(Skigh's POV)

Knight. Was. DEAD.

"What in the world…?" I stared in shock at what was left of the kitchen.

Or what remained visible.

The counters were covered in old takeout containers; fast food bags and garbage from their contents were thrown everywhere; countless soda cans were thrown everywhere.

I froze as I stepped on something on my way into the mess, realizing, thankfully, that my suit had disappeared and my blue tank top and cargo shorts and black Nikes were back. I'd crushed yet another soda can. "KNIGHT?" I shouted, not angry, but a little shocked over the fact that he'd-

Wait a second...

This mess... this wasn't Knight; Knight might be a little sloppy, but not a total pig. No, this mess was far too familiar...

Knight rushed into the lower level under the stage. "Hey, everyone! Uh, little heads up? I'M INNOCENT!"

"I know," I replied, trying to pry the soda can from the bottom of my shoe. "Brother dearest is here, I'm assuming?"

He nodded. "Anything new happening in computer land?"

"It's the Grid," Paige snapped, flopping down on the sofa. She was very protective of the Grid being called "The Grid"; and she got on Knight's case every time he called it otherwise; I swear, he was just calling it other names to get her ticked off. Something about her looking cuter when she was mad...? Well, geez, an angry Paige wasn't exactly what we needed around here.

In response, I slipped off my black leather fingerless glove and showed him the watch; Tron and Beck's reaction was priceless- never thought Tron's eyes would be on the verge of popping out of his all too serious head.

And Knight had a very similar reaction. "There's a screen in your hand!" he said hoarsely, obviously trying to keep hid voice down, but still portray his shock. "I should be used to this by now!" He threw his hands in the air as he tried to step back and squashed a grease-filled french fry under his shoe. "And, thanks to Alex Almighty, this kitchen looks like it got hit by a tornado."

"No really," I muttered, glaring at the mess. "I hadn't noticed."

Footsteps shook the ceiling overhead, the greyish-white trembling under someone's weight. And I had a pretty good guess...

"You..." Knight froze and glanced over his shoulder. "You, uh, should probably hide that from your ever so-sweet brother, who happens to be right above my HEAD!"

I quickly pulled the glove back on and sighed. Hiding everything was not easy.

Not. Even. Remotely. Easy.

...

"Hello?... Hi, Nathan... actually nothing... the whole month... yeah, I know... how's the new- congratulations!... yeah, Spender practically destroyed- exactly..." I never thought anyone could have this casual of a conversation with the president. Nathan Rose...

full of surprises.

"...anytime this week's good," I responded, thankful that Beck and Tron were taking on the events on the Grid. We had a break; we had an actual break from everything! No filming, no editing, no TV appearances, no fights for the uprising-

Everything seemed perfect.

A little too perfect, now that I think back on it.

…

"So he's coming here…" Knight tapped his Coke can on the now crystal clean kitchen island, his feet bumping off the stool he sat on. "The president."

"Yes." Geez, Knight, get this through that thick piece of rock you call a brain.

Knight stared at the beads of condensation dripping onto his hand. "The leader of our country."

"Yes." What was so hard to process?

"Nathan Rose."

I was going to turn into a blasted broken record; yeesh… "Yes, Knight."

"So the guy who leads our country, has the authority to do just about anything, and deals with the government who investigates everyone and anyone, is coming here?!" Knight asked, incredulous. "What are you thinking?! Everything is gonna get shot out of the water!"

"What are you talking about?" I looked up from washing the dishes and frowned. "Nathan isn't like that."

Knight rolled his hazel eyes. "Yeah, you're saying that now, but the next thing you know, he'll have a team dissecting Mac- WHILE HE'S ALIVE!"

"Relax, bright wonder," I replied, drying my hands off and slipping my gloves back on; that screen in my hand being water proof was a huge plus. "It's not like he's moving in with us."

"No, but WE might be moving into a mental hospital," Knight shot back, his voice filled with worry. "What if he does find out about Mac and Paige being from a computer world? It's not gonna go over well!"

I smacked my hand off the sink. Gee… the guy who'd had the nation on an upward slope, everything improving nonstop…

"Okay, you're right. But-" I pointed at him as I swirled around and we walked out of the kitchen "- I'm not being paranoid about this. If we've managed to keep my brother from finding out for this long, we can keep it hidden from the president."

Did I buy what I was saying?

Somewhat.

Did I know for sure Mr. President wouldn't find out?

Uh, no.

But with Paige and Mac on the Grid at the moment (man, the whole screen imbedded in my hand thing was working great- and in way more ways than one), we had twenty-four hours till the president pulled up on Wednesday morning for an interview and God only knew what else.

I was just hoping keeping this secret was going to be doable. Otherwise, we were dead.

Knight smirked as we walked upstairs. "So, how exactly are we keeping this all under tabs?"

I shrugged. "I don't know yet." Had to at least admit that much. "But I do have a thing or two in mind."

…

"You splash me one more time-"

I slipped and went under the surface, the cerulean leaking into my mouth as water poured over my head. Stood up and spit out the water, then brushed my hair out of my eyes. Mac stood in the water, grinning sheepishly. "You were talking to Knight, not me."

Knight splashed McKian and Mac twisted so his face wouldn't get soaked; that was pointless though; his face was dripping and his almost completely blue hair was drenched. "Ha!"

Mac smirked. "I'm getting you back for that!" he countered, his splash at Knight three times bigger. Knight went under, disappearing into a dark blob under the waves.

Paige, sitting on the side of the pool with her feet barely in the water, smiled and watched. The swimsuit she wanted looked nice enough- I was waiting for more of Knight's wise cracks about me not wearing one like it.

Well, one more crack outta his mouth and I'd crack him upside the ever-loving head; he knew full well why I wasn't investing in a swimsuit like Paige's or a bikini. Paige's was nice though, the green definitely a good color on her.

Paige laughed as Knight stood up, regaining his footing after McKian's massive wave knocked him off his feet. "Okay," he gasped, water spewing from his mouth, "what was that?! You have the watch turned on or something?"

Mac shook his head. "Nope."

"What about you two?" Knight joked, looking back and forth from me to Paige. "Any computer freaky secrets you two have?"

Paige shook her head. "Nope. None."

I shrugged. "None here."

"What's going on?"

SHOOT!

I glanced up to see Nathan Rose, his dark suit probably water-logged with early August sweat, standing in the glass doorway-

fifteen hours earlier than expected.

Crap.

* * *

_-thanks, Briannajs-22, The Altar and the Door, and PrincessKai317 for reviewing :)_


	19. Chapter 18

(Skigh's POV)

"They really do light up."

Nathan had been staring at the rabbits sitting on his expensive leather shoes for the past fifteen minutes. Jump Drive was just staring back, his blue eyes twinkling with mischief and his little pink tongue peeking out of his mouth; RAM was just sniffing his leg, her nose exploring the scent of the president of the United States as he sat on on living room couch (or cubicle room couch).

It was the next morning, and getting Paige back onto the Grid so Nathan would have less to be suspicious was hard. Let's just say Mr. President nearly wound up walking in on McKian reappearing out of nowhere.

Nathan smiled at J. D. as the bunny hopped onto his lap; never seen the president in jeans and a t-shirt before. The leather shoes weren't helping his cause any. "Are they both boys?"

"No." Good God, no! Not the president too…

"Then are they both girls?" Nathan pressed further, cradling the little black and blue body in his hands.

McKian, sitting by me on the couch, shook his head. I wondered what it was like answering that question over and over and over.

"So they can have more bunnies?"

I gritted my teeth and waited for Mac's answer.

* * *

...

* * *

(Mac's POV)

"No, they can't." Not again! How come everyone had to ask that? What was so fascinating about the possibility of RAM and Jump Drive having little bunnies?

I really didn't know, and I wasn't sure I wanted to.

Skigh just leaned against me, my arm around her small shoulders as usual. I frowned. She was exhausted. Probably hungry too- she hadn't eaten much lately in the rush to make sure the president didn't discover me and Paige.

I just hoped that she wasn't going to end up overexerting or passing out… both were likely.

…

"No, you do not want to enforce nuclear power. That's a huge step in the wrong direction, and it's a target for terrorists." Skigh was really trying to work out the new energy bill. She'd been in on the abortion bill, and a couple others that I'd long since forgotten the names of. The entire system was getting rewritten, and it seemed like for the better.

But this energy bill… yikes!

Skigh smacked her small hand off her forehead, the president just staring at his outline laid out on the glass coffee table by the couch. "Nuclear power plants are terrorist targets! The last thing you want is more areas to be targeted. And a nuclear disaster only give you more issues to deal with."

"Okay, so no nuclear." Mr. Rose took a black pen and ran it over the nuclear power section, hiding it under a black "X". "So, wind and water power… those are good?"

Skigh nodded. "Yeah, but the gas drilling thing has proven to cause some problems. Just do it in very remote areas, where water supplies and land can't be easily effected."

"Got it." The president crossed something else out as I walked back in from the kitchen half of the room and handed her a water bottle. The president was still drinking his, so a second one for him wasn't in my hands. "And the taxes-"

"Those are good." Skigh smiled at me, then tried to hide a yawn. She was really tired.

When was the president leaving again?

My watch beeped and lit up. I mentally lowered the volume and backed out of the room.

I tapped the screen in the kitchen and gasped. Okay, this was not good.

Not good, not good, not good…

"Hey, Skigh?" I had to show her this. Maybe she could get rid of the President.

"Hold on, Nathan." Skigh walked over to me, behind the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room… sort of. "What? The president's in there and-"

"Well, gee, if the whole revolution falls flat, then we'll just blame him, won't we?" I had to cut her off, though I felt really bad about it. I hoped the Creator of the Users, and Skigh, would understand me doing that. I showed her my watch and felt sad as I saw just how tired she was. Her eyes weren't glowing at all. They were dull. And she was a little white.

Skigh sighed. "Okay, just let me get Nathan out of here."

I nodded and frowned. So we were heading back to the Grid…

Because CLU was a jerk.

Wait, that was normal.

And around here, that was just about the only normal thing around here.

Me? Not normal.

Skigh? The most awesome girl ever, but not normal. And that was good.

Alan? Uh, probably as close to normal as anyone would get here.

Knight? Yeah, let's not even go there.

Alex and Griffyn? Griffyn was nice, but Alex was the one with the mood swings that made me really scared.

So yeah, CLU's annoying presence was normal.

* * *

_-thanks, PrincessKai317, Briannajs-22, and The Altar and the Door for the reviews :)_


	20. Chapter 19

(Mac's POV)

I glared at the pictures and videos coming up on Tron's computer. This was just great.

Paige wasn't too thrilled either. She looked nervous.

Great… a nervous ex-commander in the enemy's army here with us…

Why did that give me a bad feeling?

Skigh was sitting on the stairs, already aware of the whole thing, just as we were. But she was ready to collapse.

And I couldn't let her. I wouldn't.

I sighed and sat down next to her, her head falling onto my shoulders. She was almost asleep. "Skigh?"

"Skigh's not here right now. Please leave a message and I'll ignore it," she mumbled, her head hitting my chest.

I gently pressed my hand to her shoulder and sent some of my healing energy through her. She yawned and sat up. "What was that?"

"What?" Had something gone wrong with me sending some energy into her?

"That warm fuzzy feeling…" she yawned again. "I can't believe that CLU-"

I cut her off and gently kissed her, mentally ordering more energy to enter her system.

I didn't care what it took. I was making sure she was okay.

* * *

...

* * *

(Skigh's POV)

That warm fuzzy feeling was back.

My lips tingled with it as McKian's lips hit mine. He was always so gentle and caring.

But what was he up to?

Blasted CLU… his stupid ideas were threatening everything-

My thoughts were shattered as more of the warm feeling raced through me, and I got a feeling it was from a lot more than the kiss. Mac's lips slowly moved over mine, and I felt a little sad when he pulled away.

If Griffyn asked again if the guy could kiss, the answer? Still a firm yes.

But seriously? I didn't like him because he could kiss.

Far from it.

I stared into Mac's glowing eyes and smiled. "That's one way of making me shut up." I felt a lot more awake than I had just seconds ago; it was a short kiss, but long enough for my brother to flip had he seen it; any kiss would've probably made his brain on edge.

He smirked. "So, about CLU?"

I sighed, then jumped in surprise as CLU's twisted voice echoed in the lair. "Unless the Renegade shows up in Argon Square at the end of this cycle-" okay, so this sounds kinda sorta familiar, right? Wait for it… "- these programs, these innocent programs of fair Argon, will be derezzed-" and there was the difference, but sadly there was more to come spewing out of his mouth "-and not quickly either…"

The voice kept droning on and on, but by now, you're probably wondering what CLU's twisted labyrinth of a noggin dreamed up now.

Well, it isn't even remotely pretty, but here's what he had in mind:

Arrest programs.

Use programs as bait for Renegade.

Call out Renegade and make him fight in Argon Square in order to release the programs.

Yeah, that sounds just like what Tesler pulled. But there are three major differences.

1: The Renegade is not fighting Tesler- how does Dyson's sorry butt sound?

2: CLU's observing the fight… yay, another pair of freaky eyes adding to the tension.

3: The Renegade…

was already there.

Beck was one of the hostages. He and thirty other programs were kept in a massive cage in Argon Square, the graffiti from before (man, Mac's distraction was genius! And also pretty stinking close to permanent) still shining it's bright white. All of the hostages were handcuffed and had some sort of weird collar around their necks; every collar was bright orange, just a mass of churning code that zapped them overtime they tried to stand, considering they were all kneeling. Beck didn't look good though- a little blue crack raced down his right temple and his hair was a mess.

And Paige kept staring at him in concern whenever the videos showed even just a glimpse of wasn't too happy at all.

Mac sighed, helping me stand up. I was still weak, but I couldn't let him know.

Tron shook his head. "Well, the Renegade's been there this whole time, CLU."

A joke. I smirked. Leave it to Tron to crack a rare, once in a lifetime, joke at a time like this. Mac smirked for a second as well, then returned to serious as Tron turned around. "And Beck has the disc…" he kept repeating that under his breath, really ticked.

And really on edge- wait, that was normal.

This was a problem. No disc, no Renegade. And I doubted that Beck could get to his disc with his hands tied behind his back, a shock collar wrapped around his neck and about a bazillion guards surrounding him and the hostages. And I doubted anyone would be convinced that the Renegade was really there if his suit wasn't the brilliant white they were used to.

Great…

I stared at Tron, studying every inch of the suit. It looked so different without the white-

wait a minute.

I grinned mentally, then said, "Maybe there's another way to wear the suit, without Beck's disc."

Tron just shrugged. "What do you mean?"

McKian caught on and huge grin took over his face. "Oh, this should be good."

Tapped the screen on my hand and stared at Tron, the Ultimatum function taking over and starting to transform every little bit of the darkened Tron suit; the black flipped into white and the lights glowed brighter. Paige watched in awe as the suit was completely transformed. I switched off the Ultimatum mode, but not before setting a reverse. "Okay, when this whole thing's done and over with, just take off your disc, then put it back on," I informed him, making sure the suit could be put back to normal quickly.

Tron nodded, his serious expression really making it a fact that the suit was a little bit better-looking on Beck.

Now, to get to Argon Square.

…

"Crud."

Paige and Tron, their masks not in place yet, their hair blowing in the icy and seemingly evil-tinted wind, just glanced at me in confusion; this was really going to be interesting. I could only imagine Tron getting mad and possibly saying the more... annoying words from my world.

I shuddered, imagining that. Tron... yeah, no- not possible. That would just be scary.

For everyone.

McKian's mask slid over his face, the panels of black hiding his glowing eyes from everyone. "Okay, so..." he stopped. "Is this really gonna be believable?" he asked, trying not to sound too skeptical; the distortion of his innocent voice only betrayed his worry over the whole thing. Tron just nodded at him, then turned to watch CLU again.

We were up on top of the buildings surrounding the crowded Square, CLU getting ready to address the crowd. Pavel was there, as well as Tesler, and both were trying to intimidate the hostages.

And for the first time, I noticed that Mara and Zed were arrested and kneeling in the cage, but on the opposite side of Beck. Zed looked a little nervous. And Mara...

she was glaring at someone. Either Beck; or Pavel who was standing over Beck, his evil smirk something really nasty, like it could turn programs to stone.

Beck just sighed and looked away. He looked exhausted...

"Greetings, programs!"

CLU's voice echoed and I cringed. He stood in Tesler's usual spot for public service announcements; Pavel and Tesler still stood by the cage-

And Dyson appeared behind them.

"Calling all bozos- the jerk of the jungle demands your idiotic presence," I muttered, watching as the Recognizers and guards lining the Square turned to face their leader in blind reverence.

CLU smiled and opened his mouth again, just proving how stupid he was. "The Renegade's time to show up is running out. And so is the time for these programs."

One of the shock collars activated and a program in the cage fell to the ground, orange lightning form the collar sending his thin body into convulsions. Several bystanders gasped, mumbling that this wasn't right. Hm, seemed like CLU was getting recruits for us...

interesting.

"And, since it seems he needs more of an incentive to arrive and save these programs…" CLU raised his one hand, his black and sickly yellow robe blowing in the wind.

The four of us turned and watched as Tesler and Pavel stepped through a door in the cage; Pavel muttered something and grabbed Mara's arm pulling her to her feet, the shock collar activating and she fell back to the ground, gasping.

Tron shook his head, his mask slipping over his face. "Okay, that's enough."

As Tron slipped down the emergency stairway on the back of the building, Pavel placed his disc close to Mara's neck, the edge almost slicing into her. "So, how does it feel to know the Renegade doesn't care about any of you pathetic programs?" Pavel hissed. Beck, behind him, just glared and slowly shifted so he was sitting down. I smirked as my mask slid into place and Beck's foot collided with Pavel's legs.

Pavel fell, nearly landing on his disc. Beck's movement was subtle; no one would be able to tell it had been him that had knocked Pavel off balance. He quickly went back to kneeling before Pavel could notice.

The next few seconds were a blur between watching Tron sneak into the Square and CLU shouting something that made no sense to me… or probably to any of the programs present for this mess. But everything snapped back into focus when part of the ground broke and rose from the center of the Square, Dyson and Tron already locked in battle.

Mac knelt on the edge of the roof like he was gonna jump; Tron was doing well, but I was more focused on the fact that Paige-

had disappeared.

I smacked Mac's arm. "Uh, where's the ex-commander?!"

He just pointed to the cage. Relief raced through me as Paige quickly derezzed the collars on the hostages and slipped her disc through their handcuffs. "I'm gonna guess down there."

"Yeesh, that new suit of her's is really good at hiding her from the Occupation," I commented, noticing her mask was lined with purple lights. I was still used to her orange and red suit. Seeing her actually fighting with us… that was really unexpected.

This was going to take some getting used to. But at least we had Beck back without a major injury.

Ah, that was only this time though…

* * *

It was August eleventh.

And we were on the Grid.

And I was ready to bang my head off a wall.

Every time it was August, my head pounded and felt like it was gonna explode. Or burst into flames. Or, knowing me and my outstanding track record, both.

Why?

As I leaned on McKian, scooting closer to him as more guards wormed their way into the club in Argon, I sighed softly. Every time it was August…

My birthday was in seventeen days.

And as far as I was concerned, I didn't know if I wanted it to come.

The first fourteen of them had been nothing but nightmares that I could never erase from my memory. But, after Alex adopting me…

they had gotten so much better.

And dear Lord, was that an understatement. He had made my birthdays with him unforgettable in the best way possible; he'd cared so much for me… and I didn't know why I deserved any of it. As far as I was concerned back then, I was an orphan screw-up who no one wanted. But even now, with all my scars, I wondered how I was worth anything- I really didn't see how I was. But being around my brother and McKian, especially McKian, I felt like I had value. That my scars finally didn't matter.

But in seventeen days…

I stared at my glass of energy, daring the blue liquid to stop glowing. I was ready to fall over; my circuits were dull unlike Mac's, which were bright. The light green on his suit was always comforting.

Pressed the glass to my lips. It felt like it weighed a ton.

"Okay, give me the glass before you drop it," Mac interrupted my tired thoughts and grabbed the glass of energy from my hands as I accidentally tipped it, nearly spilling it.

I was really out of it.

* * *

"Okay… remind me whose idea this was?"

My head was still spinning from being weak; that energy shot from the club hadn't done much of anything.

Or maybe I was just ready to fall flat on my face.

Either way, this was Tron's idea, and it seemed like border-line suicide. Oh, who am I kidding?! It practically was suicide!

We were staring at what was left of a medical research facility on the border of Argon City, just piles of what used to be green and black walls; several programs had been derezzed as well, and seeing little bits of their bodies still in tact was a little unnerving.

Okay, more than just a little unnerving…

Mac, Paige, Beck, Tron and I all had our masks covering our faces, although no one was around. McKian's watch chimed or buzzed or rang every time his continuous scans alerted him of this or that or the other thing. And I was too tired to keep up with everything.

But something felt off.

Something here was out of place- it was obvious. Even without seeing his face, I could tell Mac was feeling it too. This whole place, the massive structure it had once been…

No, something was definitely wrong here.

As I walked past what was left of a mirror, and everyone derezzed their masks because no one was around, I gasped.

Did I really look like this?

My hair was the same- the blond fading into silver and an orange stripe on one side of my head, a blue one on the other- and that was about it. I was still short, and my doctor was right about me still being underweight. But I looked like I could pass as a fourteen or fifteen year old, not someone who was almost eighteen… someone who'd had to drop out in order to find a better life…

I sighed. Everyone else had graduated; they'd all received a diploma; they'd all got to finish out high school. In a way, I was glad I dropped out when I got adopted, because my dyslexia made everything harder. But I had good grades in some places, and I wished that I could've kept getting those grades… I learned everything from listening, not reading; reading just proved to turn everything into alphabet soup. I could've graduated- if I'd stayed in that living nightmare for three more years.

But…

No, that wasn't what I was meant to do- at least that's what it seemed like. I mean, I was one of the most famous people in the world, along with McKian, and I just didn't see how I could've gotten here without some help from the Big Guy upstairs; I never dreamed of being famous- I dreamed of staying alive.

I looked away from the mirror, painfully tearing my eyes from it. I didn't know how Mac thought I was beautiful with all these scars- there were so many he had yet to learn of or see. There were some he'd never see, unless…

no, there was no way on this earth, or the Grid (considering that's where we were currently) that he'd ever go that far. And Alex… he'd freak if I wound up marrying Mac. Like that was ever going to happen..

As we kept exploring, the feeling kept growing inside me. Something was definitely not right. Snapped my mask back up over my face.

And just in time.

The floor under me suddenly gave way and I fell; I wasn't aware if I'd cried out in shock or not. I wasn't even sure Tron or Beck or McKian had noticed. Paige probably hadn't either; they were too busy with their scanning and searching and Good Lord only knows what else.

The fall seemed to be for forever. I couldn't grab onto anything and nothing was anywhere to stop my fall. I couldn't see- it was so dark under the floor of the facility.

But I finally stopped falling. My back screamed in agony as I hit the ground, or something, and I saw a flash of light before everything went black again.

* * *

_-yeah, so, random chapter... and i'll try not to hurt anyone... at least not in this chapter. no guarantees for the next chapter... ;) i am evil!_

_thanks, PrincessKai317 and The Altar and the Door for reviewing :) the reviews mean a lot. :)_


	21. Chapter 20

(Skigh's POV)

That HURT!

Okay, next time Tron comes up with a plan, even if it's to just walk out of the lair, question it! Someone always ends up injured!

Or… falling through the floor in this case.

I could feel a cool draft on my face; my hair blown my face and I had to spit it out of my mouth, realizing my mask was gone.

This just got better and better.

A loud ringing noise echoed in my ears, and, since I was still in a lot of pain from the fall and I was still exhausted, I couldn't even force my eyes open.

But wherever I was, that bad feeling was back. And stronger than ever. And it only got worse as I tried to reach up and check to make sure I still had eyes in my head (seriously, I couldn't tell) and discovered I was tied down to something.

Something cold.

And… wet.

Okay, that wasn't comforting.

I finally opened my eyes and everything was the same with them closed as well as open. Feeling returned completely, and my throat felt raw, like I'd been screaming.

What in the world…? I hadn't been in this much pain since-

NO! Not thinking about that! Not now!

"Ah, you're awake…"

Great, creepy garbled voice floating in from God knows where. The voice was familiar, but definitely nothing good. I cringed and closed my eyes for a second, taking a deep breath and attempting to focus.

"Well, you've been screaming for almost a whole cycle now. Interesting…"

Shut. Up. I glared in the direction of the voice, which surprisingly was overhead in the pitch black.

The voice transformed into a cackle. "Well, I've never experimented with a User before-"

SHOOT!

"-But I guess derezzing you will be fun. Wait, no… that's too… generous of me."

As I thought before: SHUT UP!

Another evil laugh drifted in the frigid air. "A User… an interesting specimen to analyze. I wonder just how much pain you can take, conscious or not. And then, if you do happen to survive, I'll just turn you in to CLU."

Gee, can CLU be like Voldemort? I was really sick of his name getting thrown around.

"And, since he's looking for a useless User who somehow wound up on the Grid… he'll be pleased."

I nearly threw up as the voice twisted. It was male; that's all I could make out.

Oh, and the whole evil villain tone. Let's not forget that lovely little detail.

"And then maybe I'll pick apart your precious disc. But for now, you should probably just get comfortable here. I don't think you'll be leaving for quite some time." That wasn't at all depressing. The freakish voice droned on, slurring, "And, since you are awake, might as well see just how much pain you can take…"

Before I had the chance to feel anything, a wave of nausea swept over me and I passed out.

Well, better than hearing the sadistic threats from an unseen enemy.

…

"… stay awake this time. Honestly, Users seem worthless… IMPERFECT."

"Look who's talking," I shot back, instantly blinded as I opened my eyes. I wasn't in as much pain as before, but everything ached.

The voice laughed, closer than ever. "Oh, you should probably watch your mouth. I can just remove it, if I take a look at your disc…" A hand pressed down on my shoulder and I twisted away from it, feeling even more sick at the contact. "But I quite honestly enjoy getting to bicker with someone… almost as much as I like derezzing them afterward."

I recognized the voice and smirked. "Gee, is that why you've found that 'there's nothing like the sound of twisting wreckage to help you sleep?' " my voice was a little raspy, but not too bad.

He pitched down the middle- and I swung.

Home run.

The distortion on Pavel's voice faded all together. "How do you-"

"Oh yeah, what about 'oh, poor vulnerable me! I just unlocked the door, and your discs! And now I'm standing here defenseless! Please, don't try to escape!' "

"Now I'm just freaked out." I could see Pavel now… well, his eyes; his face was hidden by a mask, a surgical one-

not good.

"But," Pavel tapped the side of my face and leaned close to me on the table thingy I was strapped to, "I think I could have some fun with you."

Okay, if he was saying what I thought he was saying, he was going to end up dead. "Good luck, Dimwit," I snapped back, passing on Dimwit's outstanding title to a new, and dare I say, bigger imbecile.

Pavel laid his one hand on my stomach and his eyes narrowed, flashing red. He had the upgrade… oh, this was not looking good. "Ah, you're a challenge, aren't you? Well, who's strapped to a table? Who's been screaming through the last cycle? Who's-"

"Gonna wind up dead if you do what I think you're gonna?" I finished for him. Yeah, scared to death here; I'll admit that. But I was also ready to pound his sorry butt into the ground- wait, he had the upgrade, and all I had was the ability to literally move mountains.

I almost laughed at the thought.

Pavel's hands moved and traced the straight lines of the few circuits on my arms. "Well, who said I can't have a little fun?"

"I thought you got that from being a sadistic nightmare Oh, that's just a hobby?"

His eyes flashed again. "I could just knock you out."

"And I could just knock some sense into you, but I guess we're both out of luck."

I did not hate Pavel; I did not hate any one. But strongly dislike Pavel? Now that was doable.

I felt my stomach twist as his hand moved down over my leg. "You must really want to end up dead. Well, let me tell you. If you die here, your death won't be in the least bit heroic. Stupid, though… it will be stupid." He shook his head. "Or, you could just give in and I'll untie you."

"Shut up." Okay, this was going too far. I was having trouble discerning up from down; bits of broken flashbacks mixed with Pavel's threats and I felt like I was going to end up reliving one of the nightmares I tried so hard to keep buried and dead.

Pavel shrugged. "Well, I can't force you, yet that is. But I might as well leave you with this…"

He walked away from the light and I gasped, staring at what was behind him. He laughed. "You're a much more interesting specimen to examine. He's… a little too dull for my liking."

And he was a little too wounded for mine.

I stared in horror at the program laying on the table next to me, barely a foot away. His head was turned towards me, and his eyes were, thankfully I hoped, closed. His dark skin was much lighter, a sickly color. Deep glowing gashes covered his whole body; his grey-white circuits were dim and starting to flicker. Pavel just walked over to the other side of him, uncurled his one restrained arm- he was tied down, like me- and slipped a glowing needle into his arm, emptying glowing blue contents into his body. The program groaned and I flinched, reliving the first fourteen years of my life and seeing the stuff in the present at the same time.

This was wrong.

I glared at Pavel. "Really? You think I'll just do whatever you want because you're torturing an innocent program?"

"Oh, but you seem like a nice User, though you're pretty much worthless." Pavel's cheeks reached his eyes, and I could tell he was smirking behind his mask. "Besides, this program has a name, don't you… Able?"

I cringed. The way he said Able's name made it sound like the worst possible curse in the world. I bit my lip.

Tron, this idea sucked.

Really, truly, sucked.

…

It had only been a few minutes, but it felt like forever.

Able was just mumbling and moaning in pain. I wondered how Pavel had found him. How was he still alive after…

I shook my head; with Pavel finally gone, I could gather my thoughts. Somewhat.

So Pavel was expanding his scientific knowledge.

He was running his little tests on Able.

And now he was running them on me… and threatening to go further, which I really wasn't sure what that meant.

This was another nightmare unfolding.

I took a deep breath and sighed. I was stronger now. My voice was back to normal. I froze, my mix of blood and programing turning to ice, as I realized how Pavel had been testing me.

I was exhausted before falling through the blasted floor into his little secret lab. He had to have been pumping an overload of energy into my weakened system and creating pain by attempting to overtax my mix of being human and program to see how much pain I could take.

But thankfully I didn't hurt now.

I knew he hadn't done that to Able; I had no marks from the energy overloads, but Able was a mess.

Wait a second…

I remembered the screen on my right hand and glanced down at it. I twisted my wrist around under the tight restraint and winced as I whacked my wrist off the table. It activated and lit up.

Now to activate the Ultimatum.

I whacked it again and grinned as the red section of screen glowed faintly. I frowned. This thing was powered by light… that's why it was so dim. I wasn't, but it was-

and Mac's watch had to be! That's why he was having trouble recovering from Cyrus' attack about two months ago; he was powered by light! And he'd never said word one… that's why he slept on the couch- to have a light activated and draw power from it!

Well, now this was a learning experience… and I thought I'd seen it all.

I stared at Able, watching as the massive slash in his stomach area close, his suit in that area close completely. Then I focused on his face, removing any little, or large, wound or scrape. Next his left leg, which was barely held together with a few cubes of code.

I stopped, suddenly drained. I sighed. If this thing was tied in with my systems, and I was partially tied in with McKian, and his technology was somehow (Lord, if this was Your doing, I must say being powered by light was kinda cool) linked with mine-

then I was powered by light as well.

Oh boy.

I focused on Able again, trying to repair the rest of his injuries. It was draining me, not fatally… yet. But I knew if I pushed too hard, I could probably die. So I tried to just heal what looked bad.

As I finally finished closing the last major wound, a loud crash echoed and I saw Pavel rush into the light, his mask gone. His eyes glowed evilly. "Well… looks like you have some friends-"

"Some?"

I smirked as I noticed someone rushing towards Pavel, but they were too blurry to make out. I was too tired to care.

I passed out again.

…

What was I laying on this time?

As I woke up, I realized I wasn't on the cold and energy soaked table anymore, I froze. I was on something super soft and comfortable.

I was on my bed.

And… once again, someone was in my bed with me.

Half afraid to open my eyes and see Pavel there, I slowly inched them open and sighed in relief; McKian was sitting with his back against the headboard, his hand buried in my hair again. He smiled. "Glad you're back."

I smiled back and sat up, feeling fine again. I noticed the curtains were pulled away from the window, the lights still peeking through part of the colorful fabric. Light… no wonder I felt fine.

Glanced over at the other bed across from me. Paige was curled into a ball, her pink blanket pulled up over her head.

McKian looked really worried suddenly. "Are you okay? Did Pavel hurt you?"

"Aside from trying to overload my coding with energy, no," I mumbled, curling up against his green shirt and chest. He rubbed my back and I noticed that I was wearing jeans and a pink plaid from three days ago.

So now it was the thirteenth.

Fifteen days till my birthday.

Mac's smile returned. He just kept rubbing my back and staring into my eyes. "So you're okay?"

Nodded. "How's Able?"

"Turns out that tank thing works on more than just me." McKian's smile widened. "He's in the tank. You did great with repairing the damage Pavel did." He smirked. "You wanna know the details?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

Turns out Pavel had just turned the originally abandoned, and standing, building into his own little laboratory. When it collapsed, he just moved everything downstairs and kept running his tests. But, in trying to find me, Tron and Mac and Beck and Paige had to dodge every trap he'd laid to prevent anyone from discovering his little sadistic actions. McKian had said the traps were pretty sloppy, but I felt bad for putting them in that position. He said when they'd found me, they'd gone through several rooms of stolen weapons from the Occupation, but none compared to the upgrade that Pavel wore. He continued, saying that Pavel had been relatively easy to knock out, and that him and Tron carried me and Able back up to the surface.

But I just shivered in his arms, remembering Pavel's threats. "Thanks."

"No problem." Mac just smiled and played with my hair. "And we may or may not have taken something else from Pavel."

I gasped. "Are you saying-"

McKian pulled the gleaming orange upgrade from his shirt pocket and smiled. "Maybe indestructible, but not perfect enough to withstand rewriting. I think we can turn this into a plus for our side."

I grinned and snuggled against him. Something seemed to be going right.

As we sat there, Mac activated his watch mentally and I watched as he removed Able's name from the list of programs who'd died for the revolution. He sighed. "I just hope I don't have to put his name back."

* * *

_-i'm not trying to copy anyone with bringing Able back- i just liked the idea so much!_

_thanks, Briannajs-22, The Altar and the Door, and PrincessKai317 for reviewing :)_


	22. Chapter 21

(Skigh's POV)

"Bill… bill… wait, is that- nope, another bill," Knight muttered, sorting the mail out and throwing it all over the kitchen counter. "Bill… some charity thing… bill- uh, Skigh?"

I looked up from my cup of now cold coffee and frowned as I saw his highly confused face. "What's up?"

"Uh, I think this is for you…" Knight hesitated before slipping the envelope into my hands, the name of the sender not visible; he'd handed me the blasted thing backwards. It felt like it weighed a ton as I flipped it over and-

God, no. No…

I stared at the name on the envelope, the smell of cigarette smoke heavy and the black pen used to write the name dying out. The writing was shaky and startlingly familiar. No, no no; this wasn't… it couldn't be…

With fourteen days till my birthday, I wasn't stunned with their timing. I stood up and left my half full cup of coffee where it was, knowing the vanilla creamer was gonna make Knight scream if, no when (he always drank anything we had left over) he drank it. "Knight, tell Mac and Paige that I'll be back tomorrow sometime. I have something to deal with." I hadn't even opened the envelope yet, and I wasn't sure I was ready to.

Who was I kidding? I'd never be ready to. But I would have to.

And I would as soon as I was out on the road with just a few other drivers at seven in the morning.

This was my fight, no one else's, and if it got ugly, McKian did not need to be there to witness it.

I glared at the envelope. "You'll never leave me alone, will you?"

I was able to forgive, but forgetting was apparently not my choice to make. I was still haunted by what had happened, and I would be forever.

Maybe now I could get some answers.

Or die trying.

…

I set the Roadster on autopilot and sighed, staring at the letter in my hands. It was stained, and the smell from it was triggering my asthma.

Well, that seemed normal.

I ripped the envelope open, not caring to keep it in any kind of condition for use again and pulled out the blue papers inside, letting the car drive itself; yeah, that seems a little weird thinking back on it, but hey, the Roadster was pretty awesome and, much like Mac, still full of surprises. The writing wasn't the same as on the envelope though. In fact, when I pieced together a little bit of the envelope, the writing wasn't jerky on my address either. Two different writing styles…

Oh, this should be good.

I threw the envelope back onto the other seat and started reading the letter:

**"Skigh-**

**Hi. I don't know what to say really. You might not want to remember, but it's me. Chris."**

Chris? I looked up from the letter, twisting the edges in my suddenly sweaty hands. I forced myself to start reading again.

**"Yeah, uh, about the envelope. Long story. Let's just say I found something you might be interested in…"**

I skimmed the rest of the letter and threw it on the seat, shaking. Chris… man, it had been forever since I'd seen him. I thought he moved-

when I was eleven.

But one thing in the letter was clear; and I picked it up again just to make sure I wasn't losing it.

**"You know the address. Please, I really think you need to see this."**

I gently set the letter back down and switched the car back to manual, wrapping my hands around the glowing blue steering wheel. Whatever he had, it had to be something important. I mean, this was Chris.

Oh wait, you don't know about him, do you?

Well, get ready to meet him.

...

I stared in shock at what had become of the nightmare I was forced to live in for the majority of my life so far. It…

was gone.

The building that closely resembled a haunted house- inside and out, I might add- was gone. Erased. Like it was never there. Never an eyesore.

I slowly got out of the Roadster, shaking. In place of the almost dead building and lot, there were flowers, lots of flowers. It looked like every possible kind of flower and every color in the world was here. A large brown fence surrounded the dreaded block of property; vines twisted up and around and over and under the wood. This place looked peaceful.

As I stepped closer to the edge of the now alive and very green grass, I noticed a pond in front of me, the sunlight over head glistening off it. And looking past it, there was a huge gazebo in the back, matching the fence's older style. What had happened here? Not like it was anything bad.

This wasn't anything like what I remembered. The neighboring houses in the small town looked brighter and more cheerful than ever. I was careful not to step on any of the thriving flowers; I was afraid that I was going to get in trouble if I did, though I didn't know why.

"Skigh?"

I jumped, noticing for the first time that someone had been standing in the gazebo. And that someone was Chris. His generous smile was there, just like I remembered. I smiled back and walked a little faster towards the gazebo. I hadn't seen him in years.

Sadly.

I stepped up the few stairs so I was under the roof of it with him. His grey t-shirt and black shorts were normal, and his shoes were scuffed and dirty, like they always were. He was two years older than me, but was still short, just a couple inches taller than me. And I was short enough. His blue eyes sparkled, darker than I remembered, and his dark hair was short. He grinned. "Well, I didn't know you'd get here so fast. And today."

Crossed my arms. "Well, was I ever late for stuff?" I smirked. "I see you've grown… three inches."

"Shut up." Chris laughed.

Okay, so now you've met Chris Parker. He was my only friend when I was younger, and when he moved, I was devastated to lose my one friend. But somethings was different about him-

a wedding band.

"You're married?" I shook my head. "Gee, you miss seven years with someone."

He shrugged. "Hey, I have twins."

And he had kids. Wow. "I missed a lot." I felt some of the fear of meeting him melt away as he hugged me, like he did when we were younger. "So, what's up with this place?"

"I bought it."

Woah… "You did what?"

"I bought it," Chris repeated, his eyes twinkling. "I bought it and tore it down. The community didn't need an eyesore standing in the center of town. And I'm guessing you didn't either." I was too shocked to respond. After seven years, I thought he'd forgotten me. I was just a pathetic kid who hid behind the bushes during recess and he happened to trip over me one day during kickball when he ran after the ball… which happened to hit me in the head.

I finally found my voice. "You really didn't-"

"I had to leave you in that crap hole for seven years. You think I forgot that easily?" I bit my lip as he said that. It wasn't his fault; his father's job had to relocate their family, and Chris had had no say. "And besides, the place was condemned, it was empty-"

"Why?" I knew the place was gonna end up in bad shape- which it already was when I was there years ago.

Chris' answer was a little more than I thought it would be. "Uh, well, after you left with Alex, and that got displayed all over the news, the whacko b-"

"You curse, and your wife's definitely gonna ask how you wound up bruised," I warned him.

"I'm not bruised." Chris was confused, not catching on.

I smirked. "Oh, give it a minute." That was the one thing he had wrong with him; he cursed when he got ticked. His wife probably knew that much.

Chris' cheeks turned red. "Okay, no cursing." He smiled, then continued. "Uh, illegal activities were discovered and, well, everyone was wrapped up in it, and the whacko nutcase," he avoided cursing- barely, "got sent to jail somewhere and I really don't care where."

We both laughed at that. I wasn't caring too much either. I didn't hate her. I just was glad she was out of my life… for the most part.

I noticed a white envelope with slightly yellowed edges. It was a pretty big envelope. "Is that…" I hesitated and swallowed the sudden lump in my throat that tasted like dirt. "Is that the thing you found?"

Chris nodded slowly. "Yeah. I went through her files personally to make sure that something wasn't missed… and I never want to do that again." He picked the envelope up off the seat and weighed it in his hands. "Let's just say I found some stuff in there that made me sick, so I doused the... things in gasoline and burned them. Yeah, made a few of the neighbors mad, but it was worth it." He looked me in the eye. "Your eyes are glowing. They didn't do that when we were younger, did they?"

I just shrugged. "A lot's happened." A lot he didn't need to know about.

He handed me the envelope and I slipped it open. Inside was a piece of paper-

and something else inside another envelope.

I frowned and nervously pulled out the paper first. I recognized it immediately.

My birth certificate.

My name was plain as day, and the spots where my parents names went were blank. I felt my eyes water, but didn't let the tears fall. "Are you saying you found-"

"That's what's in the other envelope." Chris shifted on the seat and sighed. "I'm sorry to say I saw it. I really didn't-"

"It's fine," I managed to get out, my fingers shaking as I tugged on the other envelope and pulled it out. I stared at it, just seeing the envelope Chris had covered it in to protect it from the rest of the world. "So…" I'd been waiting for this my whole life, to find out who my parents were, to actually have a chance to find out if they really would've wanted me. If they were still alive… I shivered despite the August heat. "I guess this is it."

Chris nodded.

McKian being at home was probably a good thing; I wouldn't want to spring this on him, not without knowing myself what the names were. Wait, I didn't even know if my parents names were on it.

But I was about to find out.

I slid my finger under the edge of the envelope and slowly pulled out the certificate, my eyes half shut and my hands sweaty and shaking. I flipped it from seeing the back and nearly passed out from shock.

My name…

all wrong.

My name, though I always questioned it being legit, had been Skigh Midknight Walker.

This birth certificate was real, having everything that verified it, unlike the one I'd known for nearly eighteen years. But I wasn't even looking for my parents names. My eyes were glued to my real name.

Anna Skigh Walker.

I almost laughed, surprised no tears were rolling down my cheeks yet. "I don't believe this…" I mumbled, glancing at Chris. He just stared at me and the piece of paper in my hands. "My name is practically Anakin Skywalker."

Chris smiled slightly. "This name makes more sense."

I just nodded. He was right; this one sounded right , like it flowed. "So, who am I now?"

Flinched as Chris patted my shoulder comfortingly, just like he did seven years ago to make me feel better. "I don't know. That's up to you."

Anna… or Skigh. I bit my lip, not sure what to think. I finally decided to see if my parents names were there.

And they were.

My mother was someone named Whitney Wilson Walker. (Uh, yeah, got some alliteration there…)

And my father…

"Are you serious?" I asked, sadly now having to admit I was asking the paper more so than Chris.

My father was a congressman. He was Michael Walker-

and he was against everything I was for.

I sighed. "Great… now what?"

Chris shrugged. "I'd like to catch up with you again, considering it's been seven years." He looked really sad. Getting to talk with him again would be great-

I smirked. "I think I can arrange that."

He tilted his head and slowly shrank back, pretending to be scared. "Why does that sound a little scary?"

* * *

Five days till the twenty-eighth of August.

My name had officially been changed to what it was supposed to be- sort of. Every record was set straight.

McKian hadn't been too shocked. In fact, he said he liked my name either way. Then he worried about what he should call me. And so did the media.

Well, Chris agreed to do something that I thought he'd shoot me for- he came on the show and answered that for me.

And I was glad for that.

"Anna… Skigh… they don't seem that different." Knight just shrugged and flopped back on the couch, muting the news as they played my name change for the bazillionth time. "But which name do you like better?"

I looked away from Knight, instead staring at Jump Drive as he sprawled out on my lap, his blue nose twitching. "I don't care which," I mumbled, wishing that my name had just been one… not two. But I really didn't care which. "But it's gonna be a little weird adjusting to two names."

Knight smirked. "Mac's probably gonna freak out half the time over what to call you." He pointed at the floor in front of us. McKian was fast asleep, his tall thin body stretched out on the red carpet; he was still wet from being in the pool, his bare back soaking wet and grey swim trunks just starting to dry off. RAM had decided to use his head as a cushion, her little body hanging over his head. He looked so cute… minus the fact he was sleeping on the floor. What was up with that anyway?

I sighed. "Why is he on the floor?"

"I don't know." Knight got up and knelt by him, frowning. "I keep finding him out here in the morning."

"On the floor?"

Knight nodded. "Yeah…" he pried RAM off Mac's head and set her down, letting her hop off; J. D. followed his little furry friend and I knelt next to Knight, then ran my ran through Mac's hair. What was he doing on the floor?

* * *

Three days.

I don't even know why I bothered counting the days. It was just another day. Another date. What was I so stinking interested in? It was just any other blasted day. People would wake up, people would go to work, people would help others, people would hurt others, people would welcome new life into the world, people would watch as others died.

What was so stupidly special about that day?

I just sighed, flustered, as Tron and Paige got ready to infiltrate CLU's base. He kept pulling up pictures of CLU, monitoring his every move for what seemed like years. He finally turned to Paige, who was pretty mad; she wasn't too thrilled with the whole thing- she kept saying something felt off about this mission.

For once, though, that warning feeling wasn't there. That seemed good.

With Mac and Beck working on designing some new super bike (the things those two came up with- I was waiting for someone to get killed) in the room below our feet, I was left to watch as Tron's mask slid over his face for the millionth time and his suit switched to the minimal circuits one. This I was used to seeing. It was becoming an everyday occurance-

wait, that wasn't right.

Tron's suit wasn't lit up right at all. It was orange, the one he'd used to interrogate Beck what seemed like forever ago. I frowned, but before I could say anything- and before Paige's wicked glare could tip him off- the lights flickered back to normal. I relaxed. A glitch; all it probably was was a stupid glitch.

But suddenly that bad feeling hit my gut. It was gone as quickly as it had come, and I winced. What in the world was going on?

"Skigh, monitor the screens. Just see if anything happens and let me know when we get back," Tron rasped, the mask's distortion making me cringe. Yeesh, why was I so on edge?!

I just nodded and watched as he left, Paige hesitating before following him.

Orange circuits…

had to be a glitch.

…

"Uh, what are you doing?"

Beck and Mac were laughing hysterically. And I was too, after walking into the room and seeing what they'd managed to do.

Or, not do.

What looked like the sad remains of a bright white light bike were breaking into cubes. The rest of the bike was shattered, spraying all over the already white walls of the room… and Beck and McKian had abandoned the whole idea of creating a new and very "improved" light cycle; they were now wrestling with each other, and without his watch turned on, Mac was holding his own, but not well enough. He laughed harder as he hit the floor and Beck pinned him, laughing just as hard.

"Stop a sec!" I raised my hand and strained to hear something; something was beeping, like an alarm.

Beck and McKian stopped and sprawled out on the floor before pushing themselves up. It was an alarm.

And it probably wasn't good.

We raced back up to the computer and I froze, staring at what I saw. "Uh, Beck?"

"Yeah?"

Seeing Pavel's face plastered everywhere on the screen sucked. "Did you, um, happen to take off your mask in that abandoned facility a little while ago?"

Beck nodded as I turned around to face him, the white of the Renegade's suit glaring. "Yeah, we all did."

I forgot how to breath for a second. If they'd all done that… suddenly the whole alarm thing made sense.

Pavel had their identities. Here's to hoping he was dumb enough to forget the surveillance footage...

But knowing Pavel-

Shoot.

* * *

_-don't worry, Pavel might be too dumb to notice... or too much of a sadistic nutcase to overlook the security footage... i'm not sure yet. i just know that i really don't like Pavel._

_thanks, elementofwater, The Altar and the Door, and PrincessKai317 for reviewing :)_


	23. Chapter 22

**PART FOUR: TONIGHT**

**"Right here, right now, under the stars I promise you my heart…" -Tobymac "Tonight"**

* * *

(Mac's POV)

"What are you making anyway?"

I glanced up at Paige, trying to keep myself focused. This had to work. It had to. "Something."

"That's not an answer." Paige sounded a little annoyed, but more curios than anything. Well, she could stay that way. I wasn't telling her what I was creating. She could find out some other time, one that wasn't after midnight when Skigh and Knight were sleeping and we weren't.

Ordinarily, this wouldn't have worked. But with Paige here, another program to help contain and manage the codes, this was a lot easier. Yeah, I could create light cycles without help, but this…

This was no light cycle. If Paige thought it was, then she could keep thinking that. But when I was finished, I doubted she'd still consider it to be a light cycle. It definitely wasn't going to be as big.

We'd been doing this for two weeks now. Paige and I stayed up late and after an hour or two I continued my work on my own when the code stabilized enough to be managed by one of us. And somehow I always wound up passed out on the floor in the morning.

Yeah, maybe tonight would be different.

I was almost done with this. And I was glad. I had only two days left before Skigh's birthday. After talking with Alan for a while, I finally had a clear understanding of something that I really wasn't too sure about, and I was still nervous. I really wondered how he felt having to answer my questions constantly. Maybe I was bothering him. Maybe I should've just shut up and not asked anything. I didn't want to bug him, or anyone else, and I knew I did that… a lot.

Next lesson in being a User: shut up and don't bother anyone.

Speaking of bothering really nice Users… Paige was ticked off at Knight. I was pretty sure that all he was doing was getting on her nerves on purpose. She could have a pretty nasty temper. She'd almost thrown a fork at him, not realizing that it had sharp edges. Skigh had to pry it out of her hands, then explained to her that we don't throw things, especially sharp things, at other people. And having to explain why Knight had a fork stuck in his chest or head or somewhere at a hospital was probably not going to go over well.

"What is it?" Paige asked for the millionth time.

I just shook my head, again for the millionth time. The only person who was going to know what this was was going to be Skigh. And then other people could find out. But I didn't want Skigh finding out about this yet, another reason I wasn't telling Paige.

I just had to make sure it was perfect.

It had to be.

It had to be perfect for Skigh.

…

It was Skigh's birthday, and I was not sure what anyone was doing.

Alex had shown up in the morning with his wife, and I wondered how much longer until she had her baby. I didn't understand the whole reason why the baby was inside her, but that's how things apparently worked in the User world.

And they were still confusing.

Knight had managed to get Skigh away from us, and I hid in the room I shared with him, checking and re-checking what I'd done. I couldn't give this to her in front of everyone, mainly because Alex was here. I peeked around the door and sighed in relief.

So was Alan.

That was good. If something slipped up, he was here to recover it.

Good.

I checked the codes again and again and again, and I was waiting to go insane. Just so no one would suspect me of having this present, I had another one for her. Knight and Alan had to help me with that one. And not as in information. As in money. I ready didn't have any. But I took some of mine and put it in Alan's wallet. Surprised he didn't notice me grab it out of his pocket, then put it back.

I really hoped today went well.

It had to.

* * *

…

* * *

(Skigh's POV)

I was going to kill my brother.

No, no, I don't- and didn't, mean that seriously. I mean that he really didn't have to go through all of this for me. I was a nobody; and this… this was something that was awesome. Truly awesome.

The whole living room/ kitchen was covered in balloons and every other kind of decoration possible; and, they were every color possible. It was cool, but I still was in awe that I was finally in a place were someone actually cared about my well-being, and that was taking some getting used to.

Wait, understatement; it was taking A LOT of getting used to.

…

"So… boy or girl?"

Griffyn just smiled as she patted her round belly; she was due in three weeks. I really wondered if she'd even- "We're waiting. We want to be surprised." -found out.

I smirked. "There's still a chance for twins…" I joked, watching as my brother wrapped his arm around his wife, then nearly sprayed his mouthful of Coke across the room. Yeah, not wise to drink anything around here with someone talking.

Alex shook his head. "No, no, no. Daddy doesn't need his hands full just yet." He tried for another sip from his ice-frosted can, then almost choked as Knight tapped his shoulder. He grinned and rolled his eyes. "Okay, might as well ditch this. Can't drink anything around you people."

"Any names?" Knight asked. I shook my head knowingly; he always had something tumbling around in that noggin of his.

Only the good Lord knew what was gonna come spilling out of his mouth this time.

"Uh, some idea. But I'm just hoping that it's one for now," Alex answered, quickly draining his Coke. Smart choice; I'd already downed two of them in the last hour.

"If it is twins-" Knight began.

I had to interject. "-oh, we're all gonna die."

I blocked out whatever Knight had said and just grinned at him. Knight glared at me for a second. He really didn't care, just was wanting to crack some jokes. As always.

Everyone laughed at whatever he'd said, and Alex shook his head. "Knight, the stuff that's in your head…" he chuckled. "It amazes me."

"Live here," Paige muttered, a sly grin on her face as she walked by, "and it'll scare you."

Alex stared at her as she walked over to McKian, who was trying to keep Jump Drive and RAM from biting (and eating) the brightly colored balloons. "She's new."

"You've seen her before," I mumbled, watching as Mac handed her RAM. Paige smiled at the bunny, then cradled her against her chest. RAM's little paws batted the ruffly green collar on her tank top and Paige giggled.

"I have?" Alex just kept watching, and I noticed Griffyn watching as well. She smiled as McKian picked up J. D. and J. D. pressed his nose against McKian's. Mac just kept his green, slightly glowing eyes on Jump Drive and held him.

Just nodded at him. Knight nodded as well. "Yeah, she was here the last time you were here."

Alex tilted his head and pulled his wife closer to him. I really couldn't let him find out anything, but he didn't seem mad or suspicious; he was still in a good mood.

That was… good.

…

"Skigh?"

I jumped, nearly falling off the pool chair and into the pool. It was almost midnight, and everyone was gone or asleep. This, by far, had been the best birthday yet. Mainly because Mac was here.

And he was here now. In the very dim red and blue pulsing lights of the pool and solar outdoor lights in the garden, he looked a little bit like a ghost. His white shirt and blue jeans were lit up by the lights and his eyes were glowing faintly. He just smiled. "What are you doing?"

"Thinking," I replied, watching as he stepped closer to me, his sneakers squeaking from the wet tile beneath. I didn't really want to say that I was thinking about him. I wondered what he'd think of that. It was just that… the present he'd gotten me… it was perfect.

Oh, CLU would beg to defer, but my fist was probably small enough to fit down his throat at this point. Mac had found something that I'd been looking at for a while. Headphones. And I'd kept forgetting to get new ones, because mine were shot. For a ten dollar pair, they lasted for a while. But the static from them was getting annoying; and they were starting to fall apart, among other things.

And McKian… he'd managed to get me a pair. And to everyone else, they probably looked like a stupid pair of headphones. He probably knew that. But to me… I was in awe at the fact that they were bigger than my headset, purple and blue and black rims with grey and white designs racing over them. And they were two hundred dollars. They were amazing, and I wondered how he'd known to get me headphones when I never mentioned it.

How was he so stinking perfect and innocent?!

Mac just kept standing there, and when a car drove by, his face lit up; he was happy- that I could see clearly.

I could also see nervousness.

Wondering what there was to be nervous about, I moved over on the chair and let him sit next to me. He just smiled as he sat down and then looked away for a second. "How was everything?"

"Great." I grinned, still thinking about how this had been my best birthday yet. But McKian's quiet voice was a little shaky. What was wrong? Was something even wrong?

"Uh, Skigh…"

I looked up at his pale face and watched as he just stared back, a small smile on his face. "There's still one more present…"

* * *

_- thanks, The Altar and the Door, PrincessKai317, and applebut999 for the reviews :)_


	24. Chapter 23

(Skigh's POV)

"Gee, ever come up for air?!"

I sighed as Knight woke up, making his presence in the living room known. Geez, we hadn't kissed in a while, and the last time around him was… never.

Mac sighed as well, his lips leaving mine. I glared at Knight. "Get lost, bright wonder."

Knight just shrugged. "Sorry. Just not used to seeing the whole romance thing between you two."

I felt McKian's hand rub my back; for the first time in, well, probably ever, I didn't jump when he held me. I just wasn't used to it… I hoped I would be at some point.

"What?" Knight opened the freezer door and pulled out the four ice cream containers, his sleepy eyes lighting up as soon as he sat them down on the counter. "It's not every morning- or any, actually- that I wake up and the first thing I see is you two with your lips locked."

McKian smirked. "Knight, Knight, Knight… what will we do with you?"

"I'm thinking stuff him in a duffel bag for the rest of eternity," I joked, my hand slipping into McKian's.

"Oh yeah, and I'm the bad guy here!" Knight laughed. "Okay, probably a good thing pretty little princess is back in computer land. Wait, she is there, right?"

I nodded; after the party, Mac took her back to help with an infiltration mission; something about CLU and a prank or something? I didn't think Tron would settle for a prank. He seemed more like he'd wind up bored with something so simple.

"Good." Knight pulled out the pack of paper bowls and threw them next to the ice cream. "Remind me why we don't have any paper plates or bowls?"

"Because they take time to wash, which tastes time away from life." And that was the truth; yeah, we had a dish washer, but for cups and silverware and that kind of stuff. Plates?

Uh, no.

Never.

But, glancing at the clock, I realized Knight was right to be breaking out food. It was past nine in the morning, kinda early, kinda late- we really didn't wake up at certain times. But ice cream… yeah, not exactly the ideal breakfast food. I snorted as McKian laughed when Knight shot himself in the face with one of the three cans of whip cream.

Ice cream for breakfast…

didn't sound half bad, considering I'd only turned eighteen the night before.

The pretty amazing night before.

Am I telling you yet?

No, sorry. I kinda promised someone- two someones I'd keep my mouth shut until the right time came… or until it came out. And if you promise the Big Guy upstairs something, you kinda have to keep that promise. So yeah, not telling.

Just yet.

…

"Dude, what is that?"

I stared at the mess in Knight's bowl, the mix of vanilla, chocolate, mint, strawberry, and God knows what else looking like a muddy blob. Gummy worms and jelly beans were spilling out of the glob; chocolate syrup oozed off the sizes of the bowl and whipped cream and caramel covered that.

It was scary.

Knight shrugged, and I ducked as he waved around the uncapped whip cream can, already having sprayed himself in the face. "Food. Breakfast. Edible. Why?"

"It looks like the inside of a frog," I commented, watching as a bubble rose up from the ice cream and popped. That was only making it weirder. Really good thing Paige wasn't here; she had this thing against ice cream, like never trying it. Ever. She really needed to be a little more curious.

Mac just laughed and threw a gummy worm onto Knight's almost bald head; how many times was he gonna shave his head? Knight glared, a smirk flooding his dark face. "Okay, it's on!" He threw a handful of jellybeans at McKian, and Mac just held up his hands, not really trying to avoid them as some went down his shirt. I ducked and laughed as several hit me in the face.

I slowly got up from under the countertop and smirked, holding a can of whipped cream aimed at his face. "Okay, you throw any more food at me-"

"Okay, truce!" Knight threw down two chocolately handfuls of jellybeans. "TRUCE!" he screamed as I waved the can closer to his face, threatening him. He smiled. "Yeesh, throw one handful of jellybeans…"

McKian fell onto one of the bar stools, laughing. "Now that the great food war's done and over with, why are we eating this for breakfast? It's not exactly healthy… right?"

I winked at him. "Ah, come on. It's a healthy dose of dairy. It's… healthy. To a point at least," I muttered the last part, giggling as Knight rolled his eyes.

As we continued eating the ice cream and occasionally throwing around a gummy worm or two, I started shaking one of the almost empty whip cream cans, wishing I had the one Knight was holding; it was brand new, and this one was… well, almost dead.

Without the cap on it, I had my finger pressed on the edge as I felt it rattle in my hand. Suddenly, Knight dropped a spoon and I jumped, surprised. I stared at McKian and Knight as they stood stone still, Knight almost ready to burst out laughing, and Mac looking like he wasn't quite sure what to think. "What?"

"Turn around."

Oh, shoot. If I'd just… I turned around and winced- from biting my lip off because I was trying not to laugh my head off. "Sorry, Alan…"

This is what the guy got for sneaking in here. Alan, thank God he wasn't wearing a suit this time, had whip cream sprayed up over his face and part of his shirt. He was grinning like an idiot. "What in the world are you three doing?"

"Eating breakfast, or whatever this is," McKian answered, pointing at Knight's growing glob of what was formerly decent food before he mashed it together into a bubbling pile of mushiness.

Alan just reached up and wiped off the whipped cream with his hand; he pulled off his glasses and cleaned them, too, laughing. "Please put down the whipped cream," he managed to get out, laughing as I realized I was still holding the can, my finger pressed dangerously against the end. Sheepishly sat it down and shrugged, then laughed with Knight and Mac as Alan licked the white fluff off his hands. Tron probably wouldn't have been as amused of forgiving.

But this was Alan. Big difference… well, in a few ways.

Alan looked around. "Where's Paige?"

"Back in computer land," Knight mumbled, shoving a spoonful of his ice cream stuff into his mouth. "Hmm…" he tapped his bottom caramel-covered lip and snapped his fingers. "Needs more caramel."

"Just get if off your lip," McKian suggested, arming himself with a handful of sprinkles in case Knight went on the attack again.

Knight shook his head. "Really?" He threw his hands in the air and looked at Alan, who was pressing some sprinkles that had wound up on the countertop into his finger. "You see what I have to live with?"

"Yourself? Oh, don't stress out about it. We've learned to live with you," I mumbled.

And everyone started laughing again.

What would Tron think if he saw this?

* * *

...

* * *

(Knight's POV)

Something was going on, something weird.

Well, not quite weird, but, strange.

Very strange.

I'd never walked in on Skigh and Mac kissing. It just was really strange. They were never really into the whole romance thing, but now? What had happened last night? It was definitely strange. But it was good, I guess. If Skigh was happy, and if Mac was happy, then I guess things were fine.

But if Alex had walked in on that… yeah, no, it wouldn't be strange. It would have just been a mess. A stinking mess. A strange, weird stinking mess. I mean, the guy was acting all nice now, and he had been for months. But if he'd seen Skigh kissing Mac, that probably would not have gone over well, unless he already knew about them kissing before.

Ah, I probably sound like an idiot!

But if Alex found out Mac's secret, then he'd probably end up stinking dead. Alex wouldn't take it well at all.

And it wasn't like that's all Skigh and Mac did. They weren't smashing their lips together every two seconds. No, it was only once or twice, not stinking nonstop. That wasn't how Skigh did things, and knowing Mac, the same went for him. Besides, I don't think he was going to do that. He'd probably stinking freak out at the idea.

I tossed in my bed, staring at the one that Mac slept on across from me. He looked a little thin, like he hadn't been eating too much lately. So… the list was now: strangely sleeping on the cold floor, losing his focus on and off-

and not eating properly.

Mac's hair- oh, man, was I tempted to go get the razor and shave his head! His hair was falling in his face in layers, coming down to his shoulders. Yeesh, how could he stand it?

He was fast asleep for once, not staring at the ceiling, or mumbling about him screwing stinking stupid stuff up. The poor guy… He really came down hard on himself when he messed up anything. Maybe if I talked to Alan- but that guy… maybe it was just because I didn't know him well enough yet, but he seemed a little, oh, what's the stinking word? Secretive! Yeah, that's the word. But seriously, when he talked with Mac and Skigh, there were thing he said that made no sense.

I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to stinking remember to call Alan tomorrow.

…

"Alan?" Oh, great, this was gonna probably be the hardest conversation of my life. Well, second hardest- long story.

"Knight? Is that you?" Alan sounded shocked. I never called him, so that was probably right.

I sighed and cleared my throat. "Uh, yeah. It's me. Sorry, is this a bad time?" Part of me was hoping he'd say yes. Just say stinking yes. But Mac needed some help, so I forced myself to make the call.

"No, no, not at all." Part of me was relieved, part of me was mad, and all of me was nervous. Stinking, stinking nervous. "Why? What's up?"

"Um… Mac…" I punched my leg, trying to force it out. "Mac's really out of it."

"Like before?"

Before? "Uh, I'm not sure what you mean."

"When he first showed up," Alan sighed. "The poor kid has no self esteem… good grief, uh…" he sighed again. "Okay, what's up with him?"

"I've found him sleeping on the floor, not sleeping at all, he's really quiet, and it looks like he's not eating right." Okay, it was getting a little easier to talk to him. Stupid, I know, but I just didn't know him well enough to talk to him like Skigh or Mac or even Alex.

Alan sighed again. "Exactly like last time. Okay, just don't point anything out if he messes up. Try to keep any stress to a minimum. And I know he eats quite a bit."

"That, Alan, is an understatement."

Alan chuckled. 'Okay, just make sure he actually eats- and sleeps. The last time…" He stopped.

"What?" I cringed. "What about the last time?"

"The last time, he did the same thing and Skigh found him passed out in his room from exhaustion." Oh, this was stinking great… "Just try to keep him away from the Grid until tomorrow, unless it's an emergency. But please keep an eye on him for me. I don't need him passing out."

"Okay." That seemed simple enough.

Alan's phone beeped. "I have another call. Please just make sure he's not wearing himself out unless it's an emergency. Please."

"I will." I stabbed the touch screen on Skigh's stinking new and improved phone and sighed. That was easier said than done.

A whole lot stinking easier.

* * *

…

* * *

(Mac's POV)

"Where's Beck?"

Okay, so yeah, there were supposed to be five of us, and two little bunnies.

Not four of us.

Tron wasn't happy. He looked nervous. "I don't know. I can't find him. It's like he just vanished." He turned away from the computer and its constant scans for Beck. "He's not in your world, right?"

Skigh frowned. "Nope."

I sighed. This was bad. Where was Beck?

As Tron kept scanning, his darker normal suit flashed orange again. That was the third time since we'd shown up here only minutes ago. I really needed to check his system later… and not tell him. "Everyone has to report to the Coliseum. Something about a public service announcement."

As his suit changed to the one with a couple lights, it flashed the orange again. Something was up.

…

"Greetings, programs of Argon!"

CLU stood in Tesler's usual spot in the Coliseum. We were standing on the top of it, and I swayed. It was really high up. Maybe the height was just a little too high. Everything was blurry up here anyway.

"So," CLU started talking again, "everyone knows of this Renegade whose been plaguing the city with disaster after disaster, correct?"

Programs mumbled. I sighed. This was great and all, CLU being a jerk like always, but we really needed to find Beck.

"And," CLU continued, "I'm happy to say that the Renegade will no longer be a threat to this beautiful city!" Wait, what?! "I am glad to announce that this problem has a solution! We have captured the Renegade!"

The programs cheered, well about half of them. That was a pretty decent amount not cheering.

CLU kept talking. "Yes, fellow programs, this nightmare is finally over! This Tron impostor has been found and will be put to justice!"

Wait… "Did he say 'Tron impostor?!' " Skigh mumbled, shaking. "Uh, Tron?"

Tron's masked head turned. "Yes?"

"You don't think he has-"

"And this program, this blemish, this image of IMPERFECTION will be revealed to you! And know that we are on your side! This program, this Renegade, killed several programs for his own good. He lied to programs to accomplish his absurd and misguided goals. He defied the safety we give you to pursue IMPERFECTION."

Oh, this was just great. This was not good. Not at all good.

"And he is going to be unmasked, right here! He will pay for his crimes, and he will pay right here, right now, so that if anyone else decides that his imperfect intentions are good and pursues them, they will be discouraged!" CLU's voice became mocking. "Programs, here is your almighty hero, the Renegade!"

* * *

_-yeah, really no idea where this came from... guess i just got bored. i don't know what happened. but i do know that in order for a "later event" to take place, i had to kinda do this, after watching TRON: Legacy again... me is sad :(_

_thanks, elementofwater, Briannajs-22 and PrincessKai317 for reviewing :)_


	25. Chapter 24

(Skigh's POV)

Oh, so CLU was an even bigger dummy than before.

No surprise… no surprise at all.

But this… Beck's been late before, but never been arrested AND found guilty of being the Renegade, which he was.

This was gonna be interesting to say the least.

Two rows of endless guards marched onto one of the platforms, still no sign of Beck. I glanced over at Tron-

no sign of him either.

Mac shrugged and his mask snapped into place. "This should be good," he muttered, watching as Paige inched closer to the edge of the roof. Even with her mask on, she seemed nervous. But inching closer to the roof… what was up with that? Maybe just nerves.

Dear God, here's to hoping it was just stinking nerves.

The guards circled the platform, probably three or four dozen of them; no, spoke too soon. More of them came out, and I gave up on counting them. Like the number would matter later on.

"BRING OUT THE RENEGADE!"

I jumped, shivering in voluntarily as CLU's voice thundered. Not comforting whatsoever.

Suddenly, I noticed Pavel entering the circle of guards; Dyson did as well, and so did Tesler. What in the world…? What was CLU thinking of? A messed up firing squad? Extreme torture? I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

And I wasn't sure I wanted to be here.

Tesler smirked. "I'm going to enjoy this," he muttered, his arms glowing. The upgrades he had transformed his arms for another time, and he emanated hatred. "Finally, we see who the Renegade is."

Pavel just stood there. From the look on his face, he didn't know who the Renegade was; he seemed too eager to get rid of him, to see his face.

Dyson was the only one with a straight face. He was expecting Tron- that was cute. Well, I really wanted to see that poker face crack and break.

But at Beck's expense? No. No way.

And then CLU appeared.

I stared at McKian. "Okay, how did he do that?!" I rasped, glaring at him as he smirked.

The soldiers shifted their stance and several more appeared, dragging someone between them.

It was Beck; well, a still-masked Beck. The white suit was still blazing, the "T" on his chest brighter than even it seemed. But a deep slash in his side wasn't looking so good.

"He'll derezz without treatment," Paige whispered, her hoarse voice strangely in tact with the modifier on.

The guards dropped him, the hand cuffs binding his hands behind his back clanking off the clearish-milky platform. Beck groaned, and several programs in the stands broke the tense silence with their gasps. Yeah, guys, this is CLU at his best. Killing everyone.

What shocked me was that no one had kicked him, hit him, punched him, cut him- nothing. But pixels poured from the wound in a steady trickle, and Beck moaned in pain.

So that was it. Let him derezz slowly in front of everyone. No one was going to torture him. The wound would.

Or I hoped that was it, because then there was still time to come up with a plan.

Yeah, not a lot of time, but time.

Dyson stepped close to him and stomped his foot by his face, making Beck flinch; I couldn't blame him. "So, you're the great Renegade." He smirked. "No, I believe you called yourself Tron." He nudged Beck's shoulder with his foot.

"You've always been a thorn in my side," Tesler picked up where Dyson left off. "And I would like nothing more than to watch you crumble away."

Pavel just crossed his arms and stared at Beck. That was new. Normally, he was spouting off something incredibly stupid, not standing there like a numskull.

CLU shrugged. "Well, I guess it's time everyone learned who you are, who you really are." He knelt close to Beck's head and drummed his fingers on the side of the helmet. I almost puked, and I got the feeling that Paige and McKian were trying to not barf as well when he continued. "Are you really the hero everyone thinks you are? Or are you just a nobody?"

Beck stayed silent.

As did everyone else.

Beck's uneven breathing was the only sound for a few moments, echoing in the Coliseum. If there was a way to-

CRAP! I tapped the screen on my hand and hit the ultimatum code. I tried to heal the injury, but it was too big. And it was too dark here to power the ability. I grabbed McKian's arm. "Help me out here?"

Mac nodded, his watch coming to life. Not really sure how I knew to do this, I pressed the back of my right hand to the screen of the watch on McKian's left arm. I closed my eyes and started hoping and praying with every ounce of strength that this would work. It had to.

Beck's wound closed slightly, only enough to stop his derezzing. But CLU took no notice. He just kept rambling about how the Renegade was a failure, among other things-

and then he reached for his disc.

He really wasn't going to… this couldn't be happening… not now, not to Beck…

I tried to even out my breathing; my anger was starting to churn up as the whole idea of Beck being killed here, in front of the entire city as a public event for fun or something, made me even sicker. This wasn't right. This wasn't how it was supposed to end… was it?

I looked up at the sky for a second, the dark blue mass twisting like it was angry. I really hoped God wasn't intending for Beck to die this way. If it was His will, then it was; but I still prayed that Beck could survive. Even if the stupid mask came off, if he could just live…

CLU's hand was almost at Beck's disc, and Beck really couldn't move much to begin with, let alone avoid his identity being leaked to everyone.

Now would be a great time to know where Tron disappeared to.

* * *

_-yes, i know, stupid cliffhanger again... i'm evil, again... no one kill me please!  
_

_thanks, The Altar and the Door, PrincessKai317, and Briannajs-22 for the reviews :)_

_everyone have a great 4th of July! :)_


	26. Chapter 25

(Skigh's POV)

I threw my head in my hands, practically biting my lip off.

I really wished now that I never found out where Tron disappeared to.

This wasn't right.

Things weren't supposed to stinking crash and burn like this. And Tron… oh, good God, that wasn't supposed to happen.

I hadn't slept in three days. There was no way to. Thankfully, we'd taken the month off- no filming, but it felt like… it felt like it was gonna take more than a blasted month to get the images out of my head.

"Skigh?"

I didn't even want to look up, but I forced myself too, then realized it was a mistake. "Hey, Alan."

Alan frowned and walked into my room, his expensive shoes clanking off the floor and adding to my headache. "You look terrible," I barely heard him say over the roaring from the Coliseum still ringing in my ears; that seemed like it would never leave. "What happened?"

I kept staring at the floor. "Um… you probably don't want to know."

"I already know. That super computer of yours really needs a new password."

Wait… he knew?! "How long have you-"

"Just found out this morning. I've been here since dawn." Alan sighed. "What caused that?"

Oh, great, let's just relive the whole incident, shall we? "It…" Now I was really starting to regret letting McKian pick apart Tron's code signature after the whole incident. "It was CLU. He created this mobile repurposing unit to heal Tron."

"But it's for repurposing," Alan cut in, sounding tired and confused. "How could it heal him?" (Alan had found out long ago about Tron's injuries, but not about Beck.)

"Every program before repurposing has to have their code cleansed," I explained, still avoiding his face. "It's two procedures. One cleanses first. The second one alters the coding to make them loyal to CLU. Tron had his successor stop the procedure before the repurposing could begin, which he did. But CLU had the cleansing code altered so even if the whole thing got botched, Tron would still turn."

Alan sighed. "And now…" he patted my back and I jumped. "It wasn't your fault, you know."

I sighed too. "Gee, it sure seems like it is." Mac was eating himself up over the whole thing as well; he swore it was his fault that he never noticed a difference in the code, that it was different. But I'd checked it out as well, and it turned out that it was masked to appear regular unless professionally picked it pieces. McKian couldn't have done anything.

"It's not." Alan patted my leg. "Please look up. Staring at the top of your head is getting annoying." I bit my lip, grimacing as I had to look up at him. He gasped. "Have you even slept?"

"Not really. Can't," I muttered, staring at my white shirt and green shorts.

Alan shifted his weight on the bed. "Who's the new guy?"

Sighed again. "A friend."

"He passed out on the couch," Alan commented, his blue eyes filled with concern. "Who is he?"

I didn't know how to respond; I was kinda nervous that Alan was gonna get mad; but knowing him, he probably wouldn't… would he?

"Skigh, please… who is he?"

"He's…" I took a deep breath. "He's Beck."

"Beck." Alan just nodded. "No tattoos- well, Paige didn't have tattoos either- wait!" He pieced most of it together. "He's from the Grid, isn't he?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

"Who was he there?"

Bit my lip, the deep dark red mark where I'd been nearly ripping it to bits earlier getting ready to bleed. "A mechanic."

"That tone of yours suggests that he was a little bit more than a mechanic."

And leave it to Alan to start joking around at a time like this. I slowly smiled, trying to look more encouraged than I really was. "He was Tron's successor."

Alan glanced at the door. "You mean… he's the one who-"

I nodded. "Yep."

"And his identity was revealed to everyone?"

I painfully nodded again. This was horrible, every single blasted little stinking bit of it. Everything that Beck had risked his life for, that Paige had, that Tron had- everything that Mac and I risked, the secrets Alan and Knight loyally kept-

all just done for.

Part of me just prayed that this was a nightmare that I would wake up from and be relieved, but it was so obvious that it had really happened and that there was nothing we could do.

Not now…

Alan stood up. "I'll go check on McKian and your… new friend." He smiled a little. "Don't worry about it. Everything is going to be fine."

I smiled back, wishing I could believe that.

…

I stared at the super computer just minutes after talking with Alan, the screen not even displaying the current happenings on the Grid. It showed the usual starry background from the computer when it functioned normally, no enhancements. My email icon bounced, showing that I'd missed about twenty emails- yeah, like anyone really had my email. It was mainly my brother and Ian, and several celebrities who I had ties with commenting on a new idea that we were all trying to piece together. Long story- man, I have a lot of those.

No, this wasn't normal though. Usually there were streams of security footage from the Grid. I smiled slowly, remembering every single one of them, good and bad. They were gone as well.

It was the old computer screen from almost a year ago, from before meeting McKian… and from before accessing the Grid.

I slammed the palm of my hand off the computer screen. How could this have happened? We didn't… Tron didn't deserve for this to happen to him. He had gone through way too much-

and there was no way to help him.

I pressed my head against the cool screen, closing my eyes and wishing that I could just undo all of this.

I kept hearing it again and again in my head. This wasn't… I kept hearing CLU cackle as he took Beck's disc in his hands. I kept hearing him activate it and, instead of seeing his identity, drive the disc through his stomach. Kept hearing Beck scream in pain; kept hearing the pixels as every single one hit the platform below him, echoing and bouncing into more little bits.

I heard the crowd go silent as Tron appeared. And then the rest of it was a blur of noise. But somehow, Paige, Mac and I had wound up on the platform, McKian pouring every ounce of healing energy and code he had into Beck; Paige, her mask off, fought against Dyson and got in several good hits with her disc, slicing his arms and legs and chest up. She even managed to slice open his face where it had previously been destroyed.

Pavel had taken on McKian… again. And McKian had easily managed to knock him out.

But the dozens of guards surrounding us…

I had used the ultimatum mode again, making them unable to move. That had definitely helped. But CLU and Tron…

that probably couldn't have been stopped.

Both of them were fighting, and quite well, but in the process, Tron's circuits had flashed the threatening orange more and more, until it finally drowned out the white. CLU was thrilled, and had Tron take off Beck's mask himself.

Tron had slashed off the mask with his disc, revealing half of Beck's face. But before he could finish CLU's command, McKian had stepped between them, putting the glaring edge of his disc into Tron's mask, derezzing it completely. Tron was even more mad, and I gasped at seeing that his scar had returned, only bigger and worse than ever.

And then the rest of it was a blur, but somehow in all the chaos, Tron had turned to the truly imperfect side, Beck had nearly died, his identity wound up being revealed, and somehow- probably the good Lord's doing- we wound up back in the real world; McKian, Paige, me-

and Beck.

Oh, I forgot one thing-

we had lost our link with the Grid. No more getting into it, and no more getting out.

…

"What is this place?"

Beck was definitely not getting used to the fact that he couldn't get back to the Grid. He was exhausted, and he was shocked to discover that he was here with us in our world. We still had no idea how that had managed to happen, but it had.

McKian pushed Beck back onto the couch; we were short on beds with another person here, and well, there really was no more room for a bed. Maybe it was time to call dear brother Alex… he did say if I needed anything to call him, and right now I needed more space… What? The guy was now one of the richest people in the world!

"Okay, you're still tired. And you're still laying down," Mac said soothingly, trying to keep Beck from standing up. The wound in his stomach was now just going to be a nasty scar, and was gonna hurt for a while; but he was going to be fine in a few days, once he figured out that he actually had to eat the food. For some reason, he'd thrown up several times in the three days he'd been here- wait, no, four days now; it was September fourth, and the cooler Tuesday air was pretty nice.

But Beck just shook. "No, no…" he tried to get up again, but McKian held him down. "I can't…" He sighed and looked down. "You're sure there's no way to get Tron back?"

I sighed and looked away, leaning against the wall in case I was gonna fall over. We couldn't get back. We couldn't get Tron.

Suddenly I remembered something very important. Able… Able was still in the tank, his injuries still healing. He was still in Tron's hideout… if he was alive now, that is.

Beck finally gave in and laid back down, poking at one of the pillows that had fallen on the floor. "Why… is everything so soft here?" he asked, his voice really weak.

"Not sure," Mac answered, letting Paige sit down by Beck; maybe Paige should've been there in the first place- she could keep Beck on that couch for eternity, unlike any of us. Those two were practically inseparable. At the moment that was working in our favor.

I watched as Beck fell asleep, noticing that his suit was still there under one of Knight's old shirts and Mac's jeans. Maybe that's why he was throwing up everything he tried to eat. The blue lights from his circuits showed under his clothes, and Knight was a little freaked out by them for some reason. Paige just sat by him and smiled sadly, brushing his hair out of his eyes; Beck looked younger than her here, maybe about a year younger, about my age. I realized I'd need another alibi for him. Maybe something… with people that were actually alive?

I bit my lip. Maybe Alan would like to have a new relative…

…

Anna Skigh Walker.

I stared at my birth certificate, daring it to move. It just laid there on the counter, scaring the crap out of me; and it was a blasted piece of paper! A piece of paper that I could just rip to shreds or burn.

My name was now Anna Skigh Walker Ryker. Yeah, long enough, huh? I frowned and pushed the paper around on the counter top, practically biting my lip off as I thought. If I went to see my father… he probably already knew I was his kid. I wasn't even sure if I looked like him. All I knew was the dude was a famous senator for… well… thinking I was an idiot.

Everything I stood for, he hated and opposed.

Everything I believed in, he didn't.

Maybe meeting him would just be stupid. My parents didn't want me to begin with; with him as my father, I was shocked that my mom hadn't had an abortion.

I frowned, then stared at my arms. No, the thought was incredibly stupid… but it kinda made- no, I couldn't be…

It would've made perfect sense though. I had scars from before the orphanage, scars that had healed early on, and they were faint, but... still there. It would've explained the pain I got on and off, and the scars on my side and stomach and chest that were stuck there.

But… no, no, no… they wouldn't have left me live if I'd survived… would they? The odds of a baby surviving that…

It made sense.

I sighed and slammed my hand down on my birth certificate. Something just needed to go right for once.

* * *

_-thanks, applebut999, Briannajs-22, PrincessKai317, and elementofwater for the reviews! :)_


	27. Chapter 26

(Mac's POV)

I honestly have no idea how this happened.

September was cooler than usual, but that's not what I'm taking about.

What I am taking about is me and Paige being in the same vehicle as Griffyn.

Paige sat in the front, and I was in the back, Skigh staring at me, grinning. It was probably because of the fact that I was the one holding a huge bags of puffy things because the trunk was filled with new stuff for Griffyn's baby. Yeah, let the girls go in and do the shopping. I knew basically nothing about little Users. And whatever I was holding had Skigh almost laughing.

I shrugged at her, not sure what I was holding. I looked at the side of the package. Diapers. Yeah, didn't know what they were. I was probably going to find out eventually.

Skigh tapped my shoulder. "You want me to take those?"

I shook my head and gripped the package tighter, not sure if the puffy stuff inside it would break if I dropped it.

Skigh just smiled more. She looked so cute right now, mainly because she was happy. Alan was tackling the whole issue of Beck finally losing his suit after a week of being here in the User world. I wondered how Alan felt about having to address… that. It probably got annoying. Or awkward. Or both.

"Okay, hand it over," Skigh muttered, laughing as she tried to pull the package out of my hands and I pulled back, trying not to drop it. The plastic fell to the floor of the car and I jumped. scared. had those things broken?

Skigh just grinned and picked them up, holding them on her lap. I stared at her. "Did they break?" I asked her quietly, making sure Griffyn couldn't hear.

Skigh shook her head. "Diapers don't break… well, not by dropping them."

I nodded and stared at the package. Then what were they? Maybe I didn't want to know. Or maybe I should know. Did I already know what they were to begin with? Maybe I'd forgotten? I sighed and tried to stop thinking about it. If I was going to find out, it would happen eventually. Hopefully, before someone asked me about them.

Baby Users… this was going to be interesting.

But I had a bad feeling about it.

...

Griffyn was doing well driving. But Skigh was still the best driver I knew, and probably the best one I'd ever meet. But Griffyn was pretty good. Her car was very different from Skigh's. It was a black car, and it wasn't as safe as Skigh's.

Then again, Griffyn's car was far more legal.

But a few lights wouldn't hurt.

Paige just sat pretty quietly in the front of the car. She'd decided to become a very shy person around everyone who wasn't me, Skigh or Alan. She was just really annoyed with Knight. And Beck… well I think we all know about how that was going.

Suddenly, Griffyn swerved. "Man, some people never stay in the lane!"

"You mean the guy in the Camaro?" Skigh looked out the window, a little nervous. "I think he's either texting or drunk! Griffyn, maybe we should pull over and let him by. He'll end up coming in our lane and hitting us!"

"No, we'll be fine. Thanks for the concern though," Griffyn said.

Skigh sighed. She was ticked. And she had every right to be. I looked back at the driver and frowned as he jerked around again, nearly hitting the back of the car. "Uh, I think Skigh's right. The guy's drunk!" I didn't see a phone, and since the watch was on (I decided to look up the definition of diapers to figure out what they were), I stopped the search to check his blood alcohol levels. He was drunk.

Griffyn glanced in the mirror. "That's it. I'm pulling over." Oh, now she takes Skigh's suggestion.

As Griffyn tried to get off the road, the driver slammed into the back of the car, throwing my head against the back of Griffyn's seat. Skigh whirled around as the car spun, her seatbelt pinning her. Paige screamed, and so did Griffyn as the car hit us again.

I glared out the window, managing to get out of my seat belt. I tapped the watch mentally and triggered the lunatic's brake system, praying that the ledge we were driving alongside wasn't going to be where the car would be driving over. Yeah, falling fifty feet to my death because of a drunk guy wasn't exactly what I planned on today. Now I felt really bad for anyone ever who wound up in a car accident.

As the brakes finally kicked in, the car skidded into the back of Griffyn's car again. The car spun more and everything went black.

…

Okay, that hurt, genius!

I rubbed my head and sat up. Wait, where was the car?!

I was sitting on a ledge, one of many rocky ones-

we'd gone over the cliff.

I stood up, feeling some pain, mainly in my head. My face was covered in sticky stuff, probably blood.

But not focusing on me bleeding.

I gasped. On a over ledge, just a foot or two below me was Griffyn's car. Skigh was already out of the car, well, for the most part. I jumped off the ledge, thankful that some of my healing power had returned. There wasn't much though, considering it was really cloudy out and I'd been up late trying to help keep an eye on Beck. I rushed over to Skigh and knelt down beside her. I pulled her out of the car gently, the window she was laying out of before shattered. I scanned her. She was fine, except for some scrapes and bruises.

"Mac?" Skigh's eyes opened, and I noticed that blood was running down her forehead. "What-"

"The car went over the cliff. Are you okay?" I asked, concerned about her, and also Paige and Griffyn.

Skigh nodded. "Yeah, let's help the others."

I hoped they were fine. Yeah, the car hadn't fallen too far, but it had flipped, and it was basically now a pile of scrap metal.

Paige had crawled out by the time we got to the car. She was fine, except for a gash on her arm. "I'm fine. But Griffyn's pinned."

Skigh gasped. "Oh God… is she still breathing?!" Griffyn's side of the car was the one with the most damage, her door crushed and the roof over her head flattened into basically nothing. We rushed over and I sighed. Griffyn was pinned, her arm sticking out of the window… or what was left of it.

Skigh grabbed her wrist and looked a little relieved. "She has a pulse!" she exclaimed, breathing heavy. "We have to get her out! And we have to be careful!"

I froze. The baby…

Skigh pulled out her cell phone as Paige and I started to work Griffyn's door off the car, considering it was almost off as it was. She stepped away for a second, crying. This wasn't good. She glanced down and then started crying harder, then stared as we managed to get the door off.

Griffyn was slumped over the wheel, the roof pressed down on her head. I couldn't believe that this… man, this car was a piece of junk!

"Oh no…" Skigh bit her lip and rushed over as Griffyn moaned. "Uh, yes, there's a pregnant woman still inside the car!… Yes, she still has a pulse, but it's weak!…" She stepped away and I finally had to activate the watch, knowing it was going to drain my power and probably cause me to pass out. Either that would, or my headache would. I tapped the screen and looked up. This road was pretty empty, no one driving by or stopping and no one living nearby.

That was good. And that was bad.

I watched as the screen flashed red and I aimed it that the roof, a red laser shooting from my wrist. As I aimed it, it sliced through the roof. I deactivated the laser and switched the talent mode around, something I hadn't used in a little while. I ripped back the roof and saw why Griffyn was pinned. Her large stomach… the baby…

This was bad.

Her shirt was ripped, the white fabric all red from the blood. Paige and I managed to lift her gently from the car and laid her down. I scanned her injuries and was a little relieved. Her ankle was twisted, she had a mild concussion, and she had about two dozen bruises. But her stomach had been hit hard, and the baby wasn't doing well. Griffyn still had about a month before the tiny User was supposed to come.

Paige stared at me. "Now what?"

I wasn't sure what to do. I wasn't a medic- wait! "What did you do on the Grid when there were accidents?"

"Try not to move them too much. But programs don't get pregnant!"

Yeesh, she knew more of the vocab revolving around this than I did, probably because she was a girl.

"Well, you said you wanted to save lives, right?"

Paige nodded.

"Well, there's two in the balance here!"

Paige nodded again. "I have no clue what I'm doing, but we have to try, right?"

I nodded.

* * *

…

* * *

(Skigh's POV)

I. Hate. Hospitals.

I hate them so stinking much.

The only thing that was probably worse at this point was the fact that McKian and Paige were sitting across from me in the waiting area, their clothes soaked with Griffyn's blood. McKian looked like he was going to puke; every time he moved, dried flecks of blood fell to the carpet.

And Paige wasn't much better. She kept staring at the red sticky stuff on her hands that acted like glue whenever she pressed her hands together. And then when she pulled them apart, the drying blood made a really weird snapping noise that made me and McKian cringe. I would've asked her to stop, but it was keeping her occupied.

Kinda gross… but whatever.

Alex rushed up. Man, my brother was nervous. He was soaked in sweat, and not from the late summer heat. "How's Griffyn?" he gasped, leaning on a chair.

McKian jumped, nervous. "We haven't heard yet."

"What did you do? Run here?" I asked, a little frightened by how sweaty my brother was. He lived pretty far away, and he'd gotten here awfully fast. Well, it was his wife and child in jeopardy here.

"Considering what happened, I would have if I needed to!" Alex fell into a chair and sighed. "I'm getting sick of this hospital!"

I sighed too. Yeah, this was the one I'd been in earlier this year after getting hit by a car. Not a fun moment in my life.

Another snapping noise came from Paige's hands and Alex jumped, staring at her. "What are you doing?"

"Wishing I could get this stuff off," Paige muttered. "When's the annoying one getting here?"

I crossed my arms; Paige was fine- she was calling Knight by his new nickname. "In a little while," I replied, trying to think straight. McKian and Paige definitely needed new clothes, considering how much blood the ones they had on had absorbed. It was disgusting, but I was hoping to keep down my puke until Knight got here with their new clothes.

A doctor rushed out, his white coat covered in blood, which I was desperately hoping wasn't Griffyn's. His dark eyes were filled with worry. "Okay, is Mr. Ryker here?"

Alex jumped up and wiped his arm across his forehead. "That's me."

"Your wife has just gone into labor," the doctor blurted out, his hands shaking. "How long until she was supposed to-"

"Another three weeks," Alex cut in, scaring himself and everyone else thoroughly.

"Okay, you might want to follow me in case you end up…" the doctor's voice trailed off as they raced back behind the doors towards the operating room.

Crap. This was bad.

McKian frowned. "That… didn't sound good."

"What didn't sound good?!"

I jumped, feeling my heart race more, if possible. Whirled around in my chair and jumped up. "Hi, Ian. Yeesh, you guys must've ran here!"

Ian shook his head, also covered in sweat, his suit soaked. "How's my daughter?"

"Uh, she just went into labor," I forced through my gritted teeth. Being around my former boss… not the best thing to calm my nerves at the moment.

And apparently, that also went for McKian. He was pale, moreso than usual, and was pressed against the back of his sterile waiting chair.

Ian shook, his eyes filled with tears. For a guy who'd lost his wife, the possibility of losing his daughter was nothing good. "Where's Alex?"

"Back with her," I answered, glancing back at the doors he'd gone through just moments ago.

Ian fell into a chair, his head in his hands. Ian Christopher had never been this… depressed. He was always in charge, always calling the shots, not waiting for a doctor to come out and possibility say he'd lost his only child and his grandchild who still hadn't made it into the world. His dark eyes were a cloudy mess. Now how was I related to him again? He was my father-in-law… or something like that.

I sighed and stared at the dirt, and I gagged as I realized blood was mixed in with it, caked on my black high-tops. Things could only get better.

Yeah, right.

* * *

_-ah, yes, always torturing someone... *grins evilly and cues spooky music* ... yeah, not really.  
_

_thanks, PrincessKai317, Briannajs-22, The Altar and the Door, and elementofwater for the reviews :)_


	28. Chapter 27

**PART FIVE: ANGELS**

**"I keep my knees black and blue 'cause they often hit the hardwood floor. And I believe so I'm not praying to the ceiling anymore. I've been sleeping with the nightlight unplugged, with a note on the rocking chair, that says I'm dreaming of the life I once loved, so wake me if you're out there…" -Owl City "Angels"**

* * *

(Skigh's POV)

Yellow.

Happy color.

Pretty color.

But whatever compelled my dear brother and his wife to paint their baby's room this bright of a yellow had to be unhealthy.

Seriously, the walls were practically glowing; no need for a light.

I stood by the side of the chalk white crib, watching as a cute baby girl only a week old stared up at me. She was adorable… and very tiny.

And very fragile.

Griffyn had barely survived giving birth; and the baby had nearly died several times. This was her second day home, and the baby had a severe heart condition that would either kill her or take many surgeries to repair.

I smiled down at her. "Hi," I said softly, watching as her brown eyes stared up at me, wide. They were darker than mine, especially now, because I could see the familiar golden glow circling them. Maybe that's why she found me so fascinating.

Babies… very interesting little things.

This baby was definitely my brothers. Her eyes and skin matched Griffyn's perfectly, but her hair was dark, and already long. She was beautiful. Watching her be entertained by the pretty shiny lights overhead made me wonder how anyone could possibly consider for even a second the thought of aborting a child. Glancing at my arms and my one foot, which ached like crazy, I wondered if my theory was right; I'd called my doctor, and thank the Good lord for Doctor Martin and my ability to nearly drive the woman insane, and she was checking to see if I was right. She told me she'd suspected something along the lines of my idea, and that she had actually been thinking of calling me for another check-up. Yeah, no. Well… with my track record, I should probably go.

The baby's eyes closed for a second, then opened wide again. I giggled as she wiggled around, her pink blanket hiding her little hands.

Her name… McKenzie. McKenzie Leah Ryker. It was nice. I smiled and gently reached down to move her blanket.

"You wanna play mom?"

I jumped and grinned. "No thanks. I don't think I 'd be any good at it," I responded, watching as Griffyn walked in, looking pretty good for someone who'd just been in a pretty decent car accident.

She looked a lot better than the drunk driver who'd hit us; the guy was dead, his car smashed into little bits of nothing. Griffyn just smiled. "Hey, you'd make a great mother."

"Uh, I think McKian's better with kids," I mumbled, watching as she scooped up the little bundle. "How's Alex?"

"He's glad that there weren't two of these little squirmies," she answered, cooing at McKenzie. "Okay, mommy needs to feed you before mommy-"

"COMING!" I shouted pretending someone was at their door, which I couldn't even remotely hear if someone was; hey, three floors difference! This house was a maze, and yeah, huge.

As I rushed out of the room and ducked behind the door frame, I heard Griffyn laugh. "That's your aunt, Skigh," Griffyn said softly. "She loves you…" She stopped for a second. "In fact, she kinda looks like you."

I bit my lip to stay quiet. How did I look like the little bundle of joy in that room?! I was a scarred mess, and the only thing the infant and I had in common was the fact that we had brown eyes, which were different browns.

Wait… I quickly got away from the room, realizing what my sister-in-law had meant. Not that she meant it to be mean, which Griffyn rarely ever was. It was just that McKenzie's dark hair was almost the color of mine before I got adopted, and now it was a little frightening to think about.

I was so lost in the past I almost walked into my brother in the one mass of a red hallway. He smiled. "Hey, how's Little Mac?"

Okay, so now is probably the time to tell you that Alex was calling his daughter Little Mac, because there already was a Mac, a very tall one with hair that was still turning blue without anyone's consent. And the tall one was back at my place with Knight, Paige and Beck… and probably Alan.

"She's good, but Griffyn's kinda busy right now." I just shrugged, trying to calm down.

Alex smirked. "Well, I'm still going in there."

"Hey," I tapped his shoulder and hissed warningly, "nothing in front of the one week old!"

"No promises," Alex called over his shoulder, laughing as he walked to the nursery.

I rolled my eyes. We really had to have guardian angels watching over us to get away with the stuff we did. "Well, McKenzie," I whispered, smiling, "welcome to your family, your very unique family."

…

"What in the world…?!"

I pulled into the garage, the new additions already being tacked onto the auditorium, thanks to Alex. I quickly got out of the car and saw Knight waving his arms around like a mad man in front of me. "Brace yourself."

"What happened?" I locked the car, at the same time Mac's modifications to the car and garage door activating the mass of steel to close behind the car. Two light cycles were parked next to it, one blue one leaning on the other purple one.

"Uh, let's just say that Mac's freaked out to the max." Knight sighed. "I never dreamed my life would be this chaotic."

Neither did I, I thought but refused to say aloud.

We rushed to the rooms, which were now becoming the girls' section of the rooms (hey, Paige and I needed separate rooms- Paige snored! I can't sleep with a freight train in my room. Well, I can't sleep without one either, but still…) and as soon as we entered the kitchen, the open windows and fading smoke were a little alarming.

Knight ran into the living room. "Mac? How is he?"

"He's fine. Just let him sleep."

"He's on my bed, man!" Knight retorted playfully, rushing into what would soon no longer be his and McKian's room.

I followed him and nearly ran into Paige, who was standing in the doorway, watching Beck as he knelt on the floor beside Knight's bed. I saw McKian on the other side of the bed, holograms blazing from the screen of his watch. This was definitely interesting. At least this room was free of smoke.

"What's going-"

I froze as soon as I saw the motionless figure on the bed. Things just got weirder and weirder. But this could be good.

"-on?"

* * *

_-not too much in this chapter... McKenzie might just be a baby, but she's going to be important later on.  
_

_thanks, The Altar and the Door, for reviewing :)_


	29. Chapter 28

(Knight's POV)

"So… what's your dear brother who keeps breathing down our ever-loving necks going to think about all these people jet appearing out of nowhere?" I asked Skigh as she sat on the kitchen counter. "I mean, first Mac, then Paige, then Beck, and now Able!"

Skigh threw her hands in the air. "I don't know! I just hope that CLU doesn't end up coming through that blasted portal. Considering it never works anymore." She sighed.

This was stupid.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

The portal had opened for a few seconds, and Able came tumbling out in a heap from the super computer. Beck's face was priceless.

This whole thing was priceless.

He was fine, well, that's what Mac had said. But he was just tired.

And Mac was tired.

He was so busy with everything. The poor kid was gonna pass out if he kept this up.

"So, what's Able's alibi?" I asked, watching as Skigh sighed again.

Skigh shrugged. "Well, I could rewrite Paige's past a little and make Able her dad. She hasn't been out in public yet."

This whole thing was confusing and stupid. We really shouldn't have to do this all the time. "More like my father," I said.

"What? It'll work." Skigh hopped off the counter and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. "Want one?"

"Sure." I caught the one she threw to me and I smirked. "Well, if Beck ends up marrying her, you realize he has to deal with Able as a father-in-law."

"All the more real," Skigh said, laughing. "Am I the only one thinking having to do all this is a little stupid?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

"Good. For a second, I thought I was losing it," Skigh laughed.

"Welcome to my world." Now to deal with four programs living here. Alan was going to have fun this time, considering Able looked like he was at least in his forties. Oh yeah, this was priceless. "So, is Alan-"

"Well, unless you want to-" Skigh interrupted, practically reading my mind.

"-nope, Alan can keep that job!" I finished, Skigh and me laughing.

Like I said, really stupid.

Stupid.

* * *

Able was definitely an interesting program… or person… or whatever he was. He was just interesting. I just knew that I didn't want him as my boss.

I'd get scared.

He liked the sofa. He was freakishly interested in the fact that it was so soft. And seeing Alan walk in.

Priceless.

Yeah, so in this month alone, here's the recap: stupid car accident, Griffyn had her kid, Alex gave his daughter a nickname that was definitely a little interesting, and Able showed up.

And now, Alan was going to have his hands full.

Alan just stared at Able. "Okay, how many more are there?" he asked, stepping closer to Able.

Able just stared back, still patting the leather couch. "Who are you?"

"Oh, this should be good," Beck muttered, and Paige snickered. Mac just turned around, hiding his smirk.

Able turned to Beck. "What was that, Beck?"

"Nothing, nothing at all," Beck responded. I had to keep from laughing this time as Alan rolled his eyes. I felt kinda bad for the guy. Having to go through the same thing four times now… I was glad I wasn't him.

Paige just glared at me. I smiled back. We enjoyed getting on each other's nerves. It was interesting. Wait, I enjoyed getting on her nerves. Watching her get mad was fun.

But it was a little tense. I'd been holding back lately, and she wasn't as on edge. Maybe that was a good thing, considering Mac was gonna fall over dead at the rate he was going. Maybe I should find some stupid duct tape and make sure he stayed in his bed for once.

Yep, going to look for duct tape.

* * *

"This is McKenzie."

I smiled at the baby, really not sure what else to do around a little squirmy thing. Yeah, cute baby. Cute little baby. But I know just about nothing about little squirming kids, so…

And this one was wearing a diaper. So yeah, no way I'm holding the little baby in pink and purple.

Besides, as I looked at Griffyn and watched her cradle her little baby, I was scared to hold her if I was asked to. I didn't want to end up dropping the baby on her head. Knowing me, that would happen.

And I doubted my two former bosses who were standing close by would appreciate me dropping little McKenzie on her head.

As long as I didn't have to hold her, this visit when she was two weeks old was going to go well. So no one ask me to hold the little baby.

And we'll all live.

Maybe, that is.

* * *

_-thanks, The Altar and the Door and Briannajs-22 for reviewing :) the reviews mean a lot, guys :)_


	30. Chapter 29

(Skigh's POV)

Able was… well, Able.

The guy was definitely catching on fast… and he was insisting on taking apart the Roadster. McKian had to create coding locks to prevent him from getting in and ripping my car to bits; we let him mess around with some light cycles and Beck joined him. Thank God for a garage.

As I walked out to my car, my foot hit something and sent it flying into the wall, and it exploded into little blue bits. "HEY!"

I jumped. Able was kneeling beside a pile of what was a light cycle, or what looked like three; there were blue and black pieces, purple and black pieces, and green and black pieces all jumbled together. "Okay, please tell me that wasn't important," I pleaded, not wanting Able to get ticked off.

Beck crawled out from under his bike, standing and brushing the little yellow cubes off his jeans. His hair was getting longer, and it had gained more of an ability to defy gravity and stick up in spikes. He smirked. "Nope. That was just-"

"the main component for the brake system, "Able rasped, finishing for Beck, who bit his lip and looked at me like I was gonna die.

I stared at the now shattered piece. "Uh, well, sorry about that. But it looks like you've got enough stuff there to create a new whatever that was."

"Brake system," Able coughed, sifting through his pile of whatyamacallit parts.

Beck just shrugged and tried to hold back his laughter. I smiled at him and walked over to my Roadster, a red handlebar on the black and blue glowing roof. "Okay, my car is not where these go." I handed Beck the handle and he pointed accusingly at Able. I just shrugged. "Please, no explosions while I'm gone."

"No promises," Beck joked, cradling Bodhi's recoder in his hands like if he dropped it, it would shatter. How in the world did he even have that here? Did McKian get it?

I was beyond confused. Time to stop thinking.

"Don't worry. I'll be here." Paige walked into the garage, holding three glass bottles of lemonade. Her green shorts and grey shirt looked nice; with the collar on that shirt, I could never wear it. She smiled at Beck and he smiled back. Gee, those two… not bad. Not bad at all.

But more important things to focus on.

Like going to the doctors again. Like I ever wanted to go.

…

"Doctor Martin will be right in, Miss Ryker."

I sighed and watched as the short elderly secretary shut the door to the sterile closet of a room behind her. I glared at the examination table. "You… you have to follow me everywhere, don't you?" I hissed at it as I kicked off my shoes, already all too familiar with what ever check-up entailed; I pulled my shirt over my head, the blue tank top beneath it letting the cold room's air hit me full force. I stared at my gloves, realizing that if I took them off… no, I made a promise, and no one was going to find out. I quickly took them off and shoved them into my one shoe, making sure the doctor would take no notice.

And just in time.

"Skigh, how are you?" Doctor Martin stepped in and smiled, and I noticed that she'd had her baby. Man, lots of little peoples being born lately. Her hair had been cut as well, not falling past her shoulders like before; the dark hair was very short, and it made her dark skin seem lighter.

"Well, a little nervous considering I'm in here again, Doctor," I said honestly, wishing that I could have my shirt back on. I was freezing.

She smiled bigger. "Skigh, you can call me Marie. That is my name, and I don't want to feel old."

"Okay, Marie." I just watched as she sat down her clipboard and frowned. "What?"

"Your theory…" she sighed. "It was right. Everything points to that."

I nodded slowly. "There's more information than what I have, isn't there?"

"Yes." She picked up the clipboard, then hesitated. "Do you want to know everything?"

Nodded again. Yeah, I really didn't, but I needed to.

Marie took a deep breath. "Your foot being twisted and the bones mangled is the first thing. I noticed that you were limping on your way in here, just slightly. As you get older, it will get worse, mainly because your one leg is shorter than the other," she explained gently. "I think you may need a brace, just a fabric one- nothing big and bulky."

I looked down and saw what she meant. My foot was destroyed; I knew that much. But it was curling, like the bones were shaped to curve inwards.

Marie continued. "And then there's the fact that your rib cage is also badly healed, and not from the first accident, or the others in that timeframe. Several of your ribs are badly put back together, which also explains your asthma."

Kept looking down.

"The scars on your arms and shoulders are just more proof. The muscles there are also a little… out of kilter."

I finally looked up. "That explains a lot. But I'm guessing there's still more?"

"Yes… you remember the flat spots I found on your skull?"

"Sadly."

Marie nodded, looking sympathetic. "More proof. And some of the scars on your stomach, particularly the one the runs up your side, are from that. And the internal damage that sped up your one operation was intensified by injuries to that area long before the accident."

Great. "How old was I?"

"Probably…" Marie set down the clipboard. "I'm guessing it was a late-term one. That's the only way you would've had any chance."

"So who patched me back together?" I asked nervously, wondering how anyone would've found me worth saving.

Doctor Martin shrugged. "I don't know. But I will say this- it would've taken a decent amount of cash to repair the damages, even to the sad extent that they were healed."

That explained a lot. "What does this mean? That my life is even shorter than… it's thought to be?"

"Possibly." The doctor placed her hand on mine on my lap. "Skigh, you have to understand something. Few people have endured what you have. Trying to give you some sort of expiration date is nearly impossible. You really have to have an angel watching over you-"

**"Through the glass in my bedroom window, in the bushes far below, I thought I saw an unfamiliar shadow among the ones I so clearly know…"**

And that would be the radio in here finally working. I smiled. "Gee, that thing actually works," I commented, trying to change the subject, if even for a moment. I needed to clear my head a little. Music would help… I hoped.

**"I've been sleeping with the nightlight unplugged, with a note on the rocking chair that says 'I'm dreaming of the life I once loved, so wake me if you're out there…' "**

Marie grinned. "Finally, something take makes you relax."

"Hey, I like music." I drummed my fingers on the side of the bed, realizing that she was giving me time to focus and gather my thoughts; there was probably more on that clipboard of hers.

**"Living close to the ground is seventh heaven 'cause there are angels all around. Among my frivolous thoughts, I believe there are beautiful things seen by the astronauts- so wake me if you're out there!…"**

I closed my eyes, the cold air in the room feeling like it wasn't frigid, or as frigid, for a few seconds.

**"In the dust on my cellar staircase a pair of footprints followed me. I saw a flicker in the fake fireplace- blinked again but there was nothing to see. I've been leaving all the windows unlocked with a basket by the oak tree, 'cause I'll be picking up the acorns that fall off if you'll be climbing up to meet me…"**

Relax… relax… needed to stop thinking… why was I still thinking?

**"Living close to the ground is seventh heaven 'cause there are angels all around. Among my frivolous thoughts, I believe there are beautiful things seen by the astronauts- so wake me if you're out there!"**

Finally starting to relax… somewhat… as much as was possible at least…

**"I keep my knees black and blue 'cause they often hit the hardwood floor. And I believe so I'm not praying to the ceiling anymore. I've been sleeping with the nightlight unplugged, with a note on the rocking chair that says 'I'm dreaming of the life I once loved, so wake me up if you're out there…' "**

Oh great, now my doctor knew what kept me calm. If she expected music to keep me calm during a check up or examination, then she had another thing coming.

**"Living close to the ground is seventh heaven 'cause there are angels all around. Among my frivolous thoughts, I believe there are beautiful things seen by the astronauts. The indications reveal that few of us realize life is quite surreal. So if you're dying to see, I guarantee there are angels around your vicinity…"**

Marie laughed as static replaced the music and I opened my eyes. "So, the infamous Skigh Ryker can relax. I thought it was just a myth."

I smirked. "Don't get used to it."

…

Jump Drive… was on my head.

"Okay, get your paw off my nose!" I laughed, trying to keep him from licking my nose; seriously, what was with this cute bundle of fuzziness and licking everything? Good Lord only knew why he licked Alan's shoes all the time, along with everyone elses.

And the Good Lord was the only one who knew where everyone's shoes had been.

J. D. just stared at me, his glowing blue eyes filled with curiosity and cunning as he held his little bunny face inches from mine.

Beck, sitting by me on the couch, laughed. "Okay, so do I tell McKian you're cheating on him because this little curious creature was more entertaining, or because he was trying to stick his paw up your nose?"

I smirked. "You say either, and you won't have a tongue afterward."

We both laughed, then tried unsuccessfully to stop as McKian walked in from the kitchen, handing Beck a soda; Beck liked Mountain Dew, and I was scared that something was going to happen to him with how much of it he drank. "What's so funny?" Mac asked, sitting down on my other side.

"Nothing," Beck and I said at the same time, then burst out laughing.

McKian smiled at Jump Drive. "Okay, enough bugging Skigh. Come here."

I grinned as Beck just shook his head knowingly, then jumped. I looked down and saw RAM sniffing his leg, then trying to climb it. Good thing these little bundles of crazy didn't have claws. "Beck is not a tree," I informed her, picking her up and setting her on my lap. Her pink-purple nose just twitched, then started running along the seam on my jeans. "And we do not climb him."

Mac and Beck chuckled, Beck nearly spitting out a mouthful of soda. I just smiled and took the can out of his hand before he could spill it.

Paige walked in from the kitchen, holding a bottle of water. "Do I even want to know?"

I just grinned and started petting RAM's tiny body as she sprawled out over my leg. Things were actually looking good.

At the moment.

* * *

"Hey, McKenzie."

It was early October, and we were back out at my brother's house (or mansion, or palace, or whatever a house this big was called). He insisted that me and McKian come out for a week after shooting shows continuously for most of the last month. He invited Beck and Paige as well; Knight stayed behind to keep tabs on Able, mainly because, well, let's just say we came home one night and he had taken apart the TV and had attached parts of it to a light cycle that, well, blew up.

I held my niece, smiling at her as she tried to grab my hair. She had gotten bigger, but was still small for being a month old. Her heart surgeries couldn't be done for a while yet, and there was still a good chance of her dying before she was old enough for the doctors to risk operating. I wondered what my hair looked like to her. "No, we don't pull Skigh's hair," I whispered, kissing her forehead. Her skin was still tan, like Griffyn's. She reached for my hair again. "Hey, I thought you loved me," I joked, handing her to Griffyn, who sat across from me in their living room; or, I could safely call it, five rooms the side of the auditorium stacked on top of each other with a huge brown couch that was covered in really expensive leather.

Alex hugged his wife and tickled his daughter's cheek. I felt happy for McKenzie. At least she had a family that loved her from day one.

She was lucky.

Alex noticed McKian sitting by me; Mac was just talking to Beck about something random ( I wasn't really focused on them too much) and his head turned to face my brother as Alex asked him if he'd like to hold McKenzie.

Mac smiled nervously. "Uh, no thanks."

"Have you ever held a baby before?"

Beck and Paige just glanced at each other, and I watched them instead of Mac, that way two less eyes were boring into him as he nervously shook his head.

Alex just smiled nicely. He'd really lost that hard edge of his. "Here." Before Mac could protest, the baby was in his arms and he was trying to not freak out at the fact that he was holding the child of the guy who, if he ever found out the truth, would probably hate Mac for all eternity.

This was going to be interesting...

* * *

_-thanks, The Altar and the Door, PrincessKai317, Briannajs-22, and elementofwater for the reviews :)_


	31. Chapter 30

(Mac's POV)

No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!

I couldn't do this. This little User… no. I couldn't hold her.

I couldn't hold McKenzie, not with Alex watching me. And Griffyn was watching me too.

No…

Skigh had done it easily. But me? No, this I couldn't do. I liked little Users, but not when they were this small.

What if I dropped her?

What if I held her wrong and made Alex mad?

What if she started crying? Would everyone blame me?

I just watched as she twisted in my hands, looking very small. Her eyes weren't looking up at me, thankfully. She was more interested in my watch.

That was good. I hoped it was good.

McKenzie just wrapped her little hand onto the watch and the screen turned blue. She smiled and laughed.

Alex tilted his head. "She likes lights. Your watch should keep her busy."

Skigh laughed as she kept tapping it. I mentally locked it to keep from activating or creating anything and set it to change color every time her little hand hit the screen.

Green, blue, purple, white, green, yellow, orange, blue, pink-

McKenzie stopped and made a strange little noise. She shifted in my hands again and continued tapping.

Blue, pink, orange, red-

She stopped before hitting it again. What was so fascinating about the red? It was like it had made her stop.

And then I noticed it.

In the center of the watch, a faint white "T" appeared, matching the one that Tron had worn. McKenzie kept cooing or whatever that noise was and slowly held her hand over the watch.

Skigh noticed it too. She just smiled and tickled McKenzie gently, making her forget about my watch.

Good. Now please get the little User out of my hands before something bad happens!

Paige tapped my watch and it changed again to blue, the Tron symbol brighter this time. I cringed, and Paige saw it. "Here, I'll take her."

"Thanks," I managed to get out, realizing that I needed a reason for handing the baby over to Paige. I remembered where Alex's bathroom was and quickly got up, hoping I knew the way to it.

…

No more holding babies.

No more holding baby Users.

Yes, McKenzie was cute, but her playing with my watch was helping, and unnerving at the same time.

So what… Skigh was an aunt now, or something like that?

Too many User terms.

I sighed and stayed on the floor in the bathroom. It kinda looked like the Grid, black tiles, lots of lights, kinda futuristic (how did I know the meaning of that word?), very big, too.

I sighed again. The Grid… I couldn't save Tron. I should've noticed. I should've examined the coding sooner. Maybe I could've noticed the problem. Maybe I could've stopped it.

Alan and Skigh said it wasn't my fault. Beck said that too. So did Paige. Even Knight did, though I highly doubt he knew what he was talking about. He probably just said it to make me feel better.

I sighed and slowly stood up. Time to go back out and hopefully not get handed McKenzie again.

…

I was glad we've brought Jump Drive and RAM along.

McKenzie was fascinated by the two bunnies, and she laughed whenever Jump Drive licked her. RAM just cuddled against her, and Alex watched with a smile, making sure that the bunnies didn't hurt her.

Since they'd never hurt anyone, I wondered how he could even think that. Maybe it was just because they were around his daughter. That was probably it. I couldn't blame him too much for that.

Jump Drive found his way under McKenzie's little hand and laid beside her. RAM snuggled against her other side. I smiled at Skigh, who was leaning against me, watching as McKenzie slowly went to sleep.

This looked good.

I just hoped and prayed that it would stay this way.

* * *

_-yeah, i know. sorry for it being kinda sorta short and kinda sorta pointless... but things are going to pick up pretty soon. i put Alex and McKian in the same house, so..._

_and i'm gonna be posting a picture on my twitter account of Skigh with little handful of cuteness, McKenzie. (my account name's in my profile)_

_thanks, The Altar and the Door, PrincesKai317, goldden eyes, and Briannajs-22 for the reviews! :)_


	32. Chapter 31

(Skigh's POV)

**"Met a girl in the parking lot, and all I did was say 'hello.' Her pepper spray made it rather hard for me to walk her home. But I guess that's the way it goes…"**

Yes. Up at two in the morning. This was normal.

Sadly.

**"Tell me again, was it love at first sight? After I walked by and you caught my eye? Didn't you know love could shine this bright? Well, smile because you're the deer in the headlights…"**

I banged my head off the pillow under it, wishing this whole insomnia thing would just disappear.

**"Met a girl with an icy charm, but when Beauty met the Beast, he froze. Got the sense I was not her type by the black eye and bloody nose. But I guess that's the way it goes. Tell me again, was it love at first sight? After I walked by and you caught my eye? Didn't you know love could shine this bright? Well, smile because you're the deer in the headlights…"**

Trying to sleep… trying to sleep… wishing I could sleep… this is so stinking stupid…

**"It's suffocating to say, but the female mystique takes my breath away. So give me a smile, or give me a sneer, 'cause I'm trying to guess here…"**

Make the world shut up… go to sleep… something… bash me over the head with a rock… anvil fall on my head… still blasted stupid…

**"Tell me again, was it love at first sight? After I walked by and you caught my eye? Didn't you know love could shine this bright? I'm sorry I ever tried…"**

Trying to sleep… wishing I could sleep… already went through this…

**"Tell me again, was it love at first sight? After I walked by and you caught my eye? Didn't you know love could shine this bright? If life was a game, you would never play nice. If love was a beam, you'd be blind in both eyes. Put your sunglasses on 'cause you're the deer in the headlights…"**

Good God, let a rock fall from the high Heavens and land on my head so it'll knock me out. already… the song changed…. why did I care?

**"I saw your face in a criminal sketch. Don't be alarmed 'cause you don't know me yet. I'm on the prowl now sniffing around this town for you. Calling all cars, there's an officer down, shot to the heart on a night on the town. And the evidence of your fingerprints was found, and now…"**

Gee, why did this sound familiar? I closed my eyes, not much difference between that and the dark room in the mass of a mansion; oh, now it sounded familiar.

It sounded like Paige and Beck- wait, why was I thinking about them? They were fine. I was tired. I couldn't sleep. Wanted to make the blasted world go away.

**"You got the right to remain right here with me. I'm on your tail in a hot pursuit. Love is a high speed chase racing down the street… I'm coming after you…"**

Go to sleep, go to sleep, wanna bang my head off a wall and go to sleep…

**"Oh no, here we go once again. We both know you'll never turn yourself in. So I'm driving till it's light out, searching for your hideout. Pick up the pace as I chase you around. One of these days I'll end up tracking you down. But yeah, I got the feeling I'll be letting you loose when I do. Because you…"**

What was the point in even laying down at night? The only time I really slept was when I was ready to pass out from exhaustion. Bleh…

**"You got the right to remain right here with me. I'm on your tail in a hot pursuit. Love is a high speed chase racing down the street… I'm coming after you…"**

…

"Did you sleep?" Griffyn looked shocked as I walked into the kitchen the next morning, only the two of us up.

I shrugged. "Can't complain."

"Not an answer," Griffyn remarked, cradling a carton of a dozen eggs in her hands. "Skigh, the truth. Did you sleep last night?"

"No," I mumbled, looking away. I stared at everything except her; the granite counters, the dark wood, the pale pink paint, the stainless steel appliances.

Griffyn sighed. "You. Sit. In the chair. Now." She smiled and pointed at the bar stool by the massive island. I practically fell onto it. "Okay, you're laying back down as soon as breakfast is over."

I tried to protest, but Griffyn cut me off. "No, Skigh," she started, pulling out a bowl that looked like it was bigger than me, "You don't need to pass out. You're here, and I know that room Alex put you in has a bed, a huge one at that. You're resting all day. If you get out of that bed for more than two minutes, I'll know, and I'll tie you down to it. Understood?"

I shrugged. No point in arguing with Griffyn. Not that she was now a mother, anyways. "Yeah. Got it."

"Are you okay?" Griffyn asked, frowning in concern.

I nodded. "Why?"

"You're pale." Griffyn sighed. "Have you seen the doctor lately?"

Nodded again.

"And you're doing fine?"

Nodded yet again. If learning that the doctor had ordered a brace for my foot and had given it to me was doing fine, then yeah.

Griffyn smiled sadly. "You're sure you're fine? You have a habit of not fully telling people the whole story."

I nodded again. I was fine.

At the moment.

…

Needed. My. Stinking. Phone.

I had to call Knight; I had to make sure everything was fine. Yeah, I doubted him and Able had managed to blow up the place (yet), but I still wanted to be sure that things were fine.

The only problem?

My phone was three feet away, on the dresser.

Now that doesn't sound all that bad, huh?

Well, let me translate: if I got out of this bed to get my blasted phone, Griffyn was going to tie me down the the bed. Seriously, she actually had Alex go and buy rope when I got up to go the the bathroom… even if I just sat on the counter and tried to count the number of colorful tiles behind the sink so I didn't go crazy in that bed; getting my phone was out of the question, let alone using it…

right?

I smirked and quickly got up, realizing that Griffyn was going to be back in here to check up on me… again. I quickly grabbed my phone and jumped back into the mass of a bed, pulling the green cover up and hiding my phone under it as the brass doorknob turned and Griffyn stepped in. "You okay?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"You're not sleeping." Griffyn closed the door behind her and looked really concerned. "Why?"

"You forget- I'm an insomniac," I informed her, wishing she'd leave. Not like I didn't like her, but contacting Knight was important.

Griffyn sat on the edge of the bed and started smoothing out my hair under her hand. "Can you take any sleep medications?"

I nodded. I really didn't take them, mainly because passing out from exhaustion caught me up on sleep.

Griffyn smiled and stood up. "I'll be right back. And no getting up."

Nodded again. As soon as she was gone, I pulled out my phone and texted Knight, then sighed. Okay, so when was Griffyn getting back again? And when was Knight texting back?

Better be before Griffyn comes back with- oh, nope, let's hope for after, because she was coming back in. Please leave, please leave, please leave-

The phone vibrated as Griffyn sat on the edge of the bed again, scaring her. She handed me a water bottle and the medicine, then frowned. "Skigh?"

"Yeah?"

"What was that?"

I just shrugged and threw the pill in my mouth, then quickly got it down with the water; it still left a pretty nasty taste in my mouth. "I'm sorry?"

"Did you feel something?" Griffyn looked around.

"No." I wasn't lying; with the thick blanket on the bed, I didn't feel the phone vibrate; I'd heard it.

Griffyn just shrugged. "Guess I'm just out of it."

I just smiled at her and took another sip of water. Considering she was almost sitting on my phone, she needed to get out of here in case it vibrated again.

She seriously expected me to relax? When she was in the room?

Yeah right…

…

"So, you're resting…"

I glared at my brother, then smirked as he laughed. "Gee, I could never get you to rest before."

I laughed too. "Well, she threatened to tie me to the bed, so…"

"Please tell me you've actually gotten up from the bed, 'cause if not, you're not my sister," Alex said, still laughing.

I stared at him. "Are you gonna tell her?"

"No." Alex sighed as I rolled my eyes. "I promise."

"Fine. I got up."

Alex nodded. "That sounds like the Skigh I know and love," he commented, grinning.

I sat up in the bed and watched as he leaned on the door. "What's everyone up to?"

"Your friends Beck and Paige are playing cards, Griffyn's making lunch, and McKian's worrying about you. He wants to come in and make sure you're alright."

"He can come in," I replied, a little tired from the sleep medicine; it had actually worked, but only for an hour, and I was still groggy from it.

Alex shook his head and smirked. "Are you sure you're going to rest if he comes in here?"

"If you're implying what I think you are, you're going to be going through the window behind me, which I believe is quite a drop," I retorted.

Alex shrugged. "I'm just saying-"

"Out, genius brother of mine," I cut him off, smirking. He just smiled back and walked out, the door closing behind him.

As soon as he was gone, I jumped out of the bed and grabbed my iPod off the mahogany dresser. I was almost back to the bed when I realized I needed the headphones. I grabbed them and-

"Skigh?"

Shoot.

I turned around to the familiar voice and saw Griffyn standing there, her arms crossed. "Really?"

I shrugged, not really able to say much of anything.

Griffyn just shrugged back. "Alex?"

"Yeah?" my brother yelled back.

"Where's the rope?!"

* * *

_-thanks, The Altar and the Door and Briannajs-22 for reviewing :)  
_

_Lyrics from Owl City "Deer in the Headlights" and "I'm Coming After You"_


	33. Chapter 32

(Skigh's POV)

Leave me alone.

I just needed everyone to leave me alone.

I wished we were back at the auditorium, so Mac could come in this room and help me. But he was asleep; and, more the issue than the former, I couldn't remember the way to his room.

And then there was dear guardian Alex.

I wanted everyone to leave me alone, and yet, I wanted McKian. I just felt really strange right now. I hadn't had a nightmare. I wasn't having flashbacks.

I… quite honestly had no clue what was wrong. None whatsoever.

What I did know was something had happened, was happening now, or was going to happen. It didn't seem bad; that gut-twisting feeling wasn't there.

But what… what could possibly be going on?

I sighed and felt around on the nightstand by my bed, unable to see in the dark until my hand hit the screen. It lit up and I fell back on the bed, still out of it from the medication Griffyn had given me. Man, even sleeping medicine wasn't making me sleep.

The screen flashed and I frowned. This wasn't a usual update. What in the world…?

I tapped the screen and it opened up my browser, showing my email account. Nothing new for once… still getting birthday emails two months too late. I had some saved; some from celebrities because, hey, they're famous people!

But that was, uh, not my main focus.

This screen flashed again, the tiny right hand window flashing what was trending.

And it was ENCOM.

"What in the world…?" I tapped the word and was thankful for an enhanced watch. "Alan…" I bit my lip. What was going on?!

The screen flickered:

DOWNLOAD AVAILABLE

Whoa… since when had ENCOM just given out their stuff?

OS 12… gee, this was, uh… I was speechless as I viewed the programming behind the download (one of the many perks of a tricked out phone) and frowned. This was practically the same, just with a "12" slapped on it.

Alan was probably not too thrilled about the stupid new thing. But it being free?

Hey, now there was something to be happy about.

My phone finished the download and I smirked. Master files… interesting. ENCOM OS 12-

and the phone buzzed, or beeped, or call it what you will, again.

Tokyo Index… ENCOM was trading twenty-four seven. That was good and all, but the newest software was free.

What Flynn wanted. Not bad.

"I'm definitely calling Alan tomorrow," I mumbled, rolling onto my side and still holding my phone as I tried to sleep.

…

"You were what?"

Alan laughed. "Paged. I was paged last night."

"You carry a pager?!" I giggled. "Can I ask why?"

I stared at my phone as Alan's voice crackled with static. "Flynn."

"That's enough of an answer," I replied, staring at my phone. "So the whole stocks thing… I noticed that got delayed."

"Yeah, that was… interesting." Alan sighed.

I frowned. "What's up, Alan?"

"You still don't have a link to the Grid, do you?"

Why did he have to sound so blasted hopeful? "Nope, nothing-"

"I JUST GOT ENCOM OS 12!" I jumped, nearly dropping my phone as I pulled on my shoes and stared at the time. It was seven o'clock, and, well, with a sleeping baby in the house, my brother had no sense in that thick head of his to scream like that.

"Sounds like your brother's discovered the new program," Alan commented.

"You've got that right." I hesitated before asking, "Hey, you tell anyone else about the page thing?" I was still shocked that the guy carried a pager.

Alan didn't answer for a second, and I thought maybe it was a bad idea to ask. But he finally answered with, "Yes. Sam."

"Sam?" I didn't think Sam was going to do much upon hearing that; aside from digging up the whole issue of no dad again.

"Yes, you know- number one share holder for ENCOM, Flynn's son-"

I laughed. "I know who he is."

"Well, he knows-" someone was calling for Alan in the background, creating more static. "I gotta go."

"Okay, bye, Alan."

Hung up and stared at my phone. Paged?

After nearly thirty years… Alan probably expected the whole pager thing to have reopened Mac's connection to the Grid, or at least something like that.

But it didn't, not yet anyways.

I sighed and threw my phone down on the bed. Kevin paging Alan…

I was not expecting that.

And I was hoping that was good.

…

"Uh, Skigh?"

I looked up from texting Knight; still confined to laying down, courtesy of Griffyn, who was standing in the doorway. "Yeah?"

Griffyn bit her lip, trying not to smile. "I had an idea-"

"And I'm going to go run and hide now," I joked, sitting up on the bed.

"Oh, come on. It's not bad," Griffyn sat next to me, staring at my black t-shirt and shorts. "You wore those last night."

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm still just in bed. Might as well wear them."

"Or…"

I stared at her nervously. "What is goin' on in that mind of yours? And do I want to find out?"

…

"What in the world did you do?!"

I stared at Griffyn in shock. What was she thinking?

That grin on her face wasn't inspiring. It was a little scary; well, maybe a little unnerving as well.

And considering she was making me try on her clothes, I was a little… scared.

Griffyn just smiled wider as I rolled my eyes. "What? You look cute!"

"I look like I'm wearing a dress that's four sizes too big, WHICH IT IS!" I sighed. "What are you trying to-"

"Shh, the master has just had another amazing idea involving clothes," Griffyn cut me off, running back into her closet which was the size of the bedroom I shared with Paige, well, now that Knight was moving our stuff into the new rooms, so I didn't share that box of a room any more.

I bit my lip. "Please say they're, oh, I don't know, MY SIZE!"

She just laughed. "What? It's not that big."

Rolled my eyes again. Maybe her tying me down to that blasted bed would've been better…

* * *

_-so, yeah, the end of the chapter's... kinda pointless... and things will speed up soon, i promise! though... i can't promise that there will be no injuries.  
_

_thanks, elementofwater, PrincessKai317, and The Altar and the Door for reviewing :)_


	34. Chapter 33

(Skigh's POV)

McKenzie was so cute!

And according to my brother and his wife, so was I.

Great…

I sat down on the couch in yet another room, this one black and fuzzy-ish. The room was a dark grey; a big screen took up one wall, reminding me that my brother was a billionaire.

Good thing… bad thing… I wasn't sure yet.

McKenzie was sitting on my lap, playing with the green ruffles at the bottom of the dress that Griffyn had found that actually fit me. I sighed and looked down at it as McKenzie's little hands grabbed the low collar and played with the stitching. She started cooing and I pulled the collar out of her grip, turning her so she couldn't grab it. This green dress…

"Someone tie me to the bed already," I muttered, tickling McKenzie's little belly, her pink dress fluffy and soft. "For the record," I said, looking into her dark eyes, "this dress was not my idea."

McKenzie just gurgled and laughed.

I bounced her gently on my knee so I avoided possibly effecting her heart condition. She was so fragile.

This stupid dress… I stood up and cradled her in my arms, noting for another countless time how small she was. "Hey, wanna go see Mommy?" I asked her, kissing her forehead. She just snuggled against my neck and cooed. I grinned and hoped I remembered the way back to the kitchen from here. "I'll take that as a 'yes'," I whispered, rubbing her tiny back as she started to go the sleep.

Finally, I found Griffyn in the kitchen; she was ripping everything apart in order to make dinner. In three days, we would either be heading back home, or staying, depending on if the additions were done and if Knight had finished moving everything; he volunteered to do that, so I was going to let him.

I laughed as I noticed McKian at the table, playing with one of McKenzie's toys. He had ripped the front light-up panel off and was messing with the wires. "What are you doing?" I asked quietly so McKenzie stayed asleep.

He looked up, and I noticed that not only were his eyes blazing bright green, but his hair was all some shade of blue. He smiled innocently. "Uh, I don't know. I think I'm trying to fix it? Or find the batteries? I don't know."

I laughed and sat next to him, still cradling my niece. McKian glanced at Griffyn to make sure she wasn't watching, then activated his watch, aiming the screen at the destroyed toy; every piece slowly, then gaining in speed, clicked back together, wires rejoining, lights glowing momentarily, until it was all one piece again and the batteries hidden in the former pile of destroyed baby toy were back in place. He shrugged. "Okay, fixed it." He turned off his watch, then stared at McKenzie, grinning. "You don't tell anyone, okay?"

McKenzie just kept sleeping. I smiled at him and leaned on his shoulder. "Looks like your secret's safe," I murmured, seeing that he was a little nervous. He was scared around my brother. Hopefully we could get out of here soon without anything going wrong.

Griffyn walked over and gasped, dropping the blue dishcloth she was wiping her hands on. "That was all in pieces!" She grinned at Mac. "Nice, McKian. How in the world did you do that?"

"I don't know. It just kinda happened," Mac answered, smirking slightly. He was getting better at not showing his nervousness; and he hadn't lied either; neither of us knew how the watch worked, and it did just kinda happen.

Griffyn took McKenzie and as soon as she did, I saw Mac stare at me. I froze. That stupid dress from Griffyn's closet… I was still wearing it. He tilted his head. "That dress isn't you," he said plainly, almost bluntly.

"I know." I just leaned closer to him and sighed. "But it was either this, or lying in bed all day."

"Griffyn?"

I nodded against his chest.

Mac laughed softly. "That is not your style. At all."

"I know."

"Can you get rid of it?"

I stared up at him. "Not right now." I felt along the bottom of it, realizing just how short the bottom was. "Okay, right now-"

Mac just smirked.

"-in my room," I finished as we both started laughing.

McKian just shrugged, smiling innocently again. "What did you think I meant?"

I giggled. He still had a few things to pick up on.

It was kinda cute.

Now if his secret could stay under wraps… and if that task could be even remotely easy.

…

"This is much better."

Mac nodded as he scooted closer to me on the couch, smiling. "I agree."

My black shirt and shorts from earlier were back on, and I felt a lot more comfortable. I smiled as Beck and Paige walked into the darker family, or sitting, or whatever this room was called, room, handing us each a soda and smiling. I was tired, finally. I wondered if Griffyn's plan was just to exhaust me.

Knowing her, probably.

As they started talking, I started falling asleep, sitting my unopened Coke on the table.

* * *

…

* * *

(Mac's POV)

Skigh must've been really tired. I gently moved her so her head was on my lap and so she was comfortable.

Beck and Paige, sitting on the other section of the big couch, just watched as I did that. Beck smiled. "You really like her, don't you?"

I nodded and brushed her hair out of her face, the blue and orange streaks going back into their right places. Her blonde-silver hair was longer than before, and it was long already. It looked nice. She looked relaxed at the moment.

That was good.

Paige smiled. "Yeah." I looked up and saw Beck's arm around her. I wondered how much they knew about relationships. I was probably the one who knew the most, thanks to Alan and his help. That was a good feeling, but Paige was probably gonna pass me by any time now.

As I watched Skigh, I wondered what she was dreaming about.

Hopefully it was something good.

* * *

_-okay, so really random chapter of nothingness… for the most part, anyways. and... then there's the next chapter... you probably won't want to kill me for it... not yet, at least...  
_

_thanks, elementofwater, PrincessKai317, and The Altar and the Door for the reviews :) they mean a lot :)_


	35. Chapter 34

(Mac's POV)

They left me here… with a baby.

I smiled at McKenzie, wondering if she could tell I was nervous. From her just playing with a red felt cube and cooing or whatever that noise was, she seemed to not notice.

But when Griffyn had insisted on getting Skigh out of the house (her making Skigh try on her clothes had really all been just to tire Skigh out- and it had worked-but that was not something Skigh really enjoyed. And that dress… oh, man. Skigh must've been really tired when Griffyn gave her that, because I personally hated that dress.)

I stared at McKenzie. "Okay, so why did your mom and dad leave me here with you again?"

She just looked up from her toy and grabbed at my now even longer hair. I laughed and picked her up off the floor, grabbing her pink blanket. She loved the thing.

Why had they left me with a baby?

McKenzie had serious health problems. I didn't want to hurt her. And now the odds of me possibly hurting her were bigger, and scarier.

I walked into the kitchen and sat McKenzie on the counter, watching her carefully so she didn't fall. That was the last thing I needed. Her falling on her head was not an option I had, unless I wanted to die.

"EEP!"

I had just turned to get a water bottle out of the fridge when little McKenzie yelped or squealed or something like that. I turned around and little tears were starting to form in her dark eyes.

"Not good," I muttered, shutting the fridge and setting down the water bottle so I could see what was wrong. I picked her up and sat at the table, holding her in my lap. She sniffled as I gently took her hand and noticed a tiny cut. I stared at the counter, seeing a sharp edge sticking off one of the cupboards, and it was sharp metal.

I glanced back and forth from McKenzie's cut to the sharp thing on the cupboard. She must've reached down when I turned around and cut her hand then. I sighed, realizing that Alex and Griffyn were gonna notice the cut, which was starting to bleed.

McKenzie squealed again as she tried to pat my arm with her hurt hand, leaving behind blood. I held her hand to keep her from hurting it more. "It's okay. It's gonna be okay," I whispered, mentally activating my watch and focusing on the tiny wound, sent it enough healing energy to heal it with no scar. My hand, holding hers, glowed with the energy. Thankfully no one was here to see this, and I doubted McKenzie was going to say anything, considering she couldn't talk yet. The blue glow faded, and I moved my hand.

No scar was left.

I smiled and stood up, holding the baby against my chest. She stared up at me, smiling and cooing. "See? Everything's okay," I said to her. I sighed and laughed. "I wish you could talk. This whole one-sided conversation thing is not working."

She just kept staring at me. I wondered what I looked like to her. Maybe my hair was scaring her or something.

Okay, wait, everyone was gone, right? I froze, halfway down the hall to McKenzie's room, making sure no one could've seen what I'd done.

Skigh, Griffyn and Paige were out at a store or something. I couldn't remember where they'd gone, but they were supposed to be out relaxing. Skigh deserved to relax. She had a lot on her mind.

Beck was in the garage, fixing something with Skigh's Roadster. He'd asked no one to come in while he worked, and that was good. Thankfully, Alex and Griffyn had a lot of garages, and the one Beck was in I hadn't seen them in yet.

Alex had a meeting or something. He was gone.

I started walking again. And then I started talking to McKenzie again. "So," I smiled at her as she yawned. "I guess it's just you and me, huh?"

She just yawned again. She was so tiny. I was hoping that after feeding her a little while ago that someone would be back in time to take over so I didn't hurt her again. Actually, the cupboard had hurt her…

I turned around, just a few feet from her room. "Wanna come with me?"

She just patted my shoulder and snuggled into my neck. I grinned. "Okay, come on."

I walked back to the kitchen and aimed my watch at the sharp edge that had hurt her and watched as it disappeared under a blue glow, then was gone altogether. No more edge to get hurt on for anyone.

McKenzie shifted in my arms and I hoped I wouldn't drop her. "Okay, how about you take a nap now?" I asked her, knowing that she wasn't going to answer me back. "You're tired, aren't you?"

She just shifted again.

I rubbed her little back and walked into her room, stopping at her crib. "Ready to sleep, McKenzie?"

I tucked her in the way Griffyn had said to and smiled at her as she kicked under the covers. "I hope you get better," I whispered, wishing she had no health issues.

I watched as she started crying. I didn't know why she was, but she needed to rest. I gently rubbed her forehead, my fingertips glowing blue as she calmed down and went to sleep. I think that was healing energy. It had to be. The watch said she was in pain from her condition, not from the cut.

I smiled at her again. She was so cute.

And so little.

I fixed her blanket so it covered her and stepped backwards to walk out-

"What was that?!"

I jumped and slowly turned around, hoping and praying that it wasn't-

I was just inches from Alex.

A very angry Alex.

* * *

_-FINALLY! i've been waiting for this! whether you hate me for... well, what's to come, or not, please leave a review so i have some input to work with. :)_

_thanks, PrincessKai317 and The Altar and the Door for the reviews :)_  
_(you guys are awesome!) :)_


	36. Chapter 35

(Mac's POV)

"ALL THIS TIME… YOU WERE- WERE HIDING THIS?!"

This was bad. I jumped back out of the nursery, trying to get away from Alex. He was very red, and he looked mad.

This was very bad.

"I can't believe…" Alex stopped and his fist shot out. I ducked and fell to the plush carpet on the hall floor, and Alex followed me. "You're some sort of FREAK, aren't you?!" He swung again and I cringed as he punched my jaw.

"Alex, no," I gasped still trying to get away from him, scared that he was gonna kill me, "that's not-"

"SHUT UP!" His foot hit my stomach and I fell face first back onto the carpet.

I rolled over, his foot hitting my ribs. I gasped. It was getting harder to breathe. I was hoping he'd stop-

Alex's scowl was scary. "I can't believe that I let you around my daughter!" He threw more punches and I couldn't even dodge them as he pinned me to the floor. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!"

Something bitter filled my mouth. I coughed and gagged on the thick stuff coming from the pink fleshy stuff over my teeth. I guessed it was blood.

"YOU HURT HER! DIDN'T YOU?!"

I gritted my teeth as another fist hit my head, and then my eye, and then my jaw again. Alex was never like this, ever before when he wasn't sure what to think of me. I couldn't answer back, and I wasn't sure if being able to would be a good thing.

Alex's face was almost the color of the red carpet beneath us. He stood up and swung a book (no idea where that came from- oh yeah, book case by my head) at me. I raised my arms and managed to block it from hitting me. I coughed again, hoping that he might just stop or that someone would help me. I started praying, hoping, that he would stop.

"Pathetic! That's what you are!" Alex kept screaming, and I realized for the first time I was crying.

If only he knew what… I hadn't hurt McKenzie at all! Had I?

"You're a liar!"

Another hit. I groaned, rolling onto my side as his foot slammed into my back.

"Probably a thief for all I know!"

I couldn't tell if he was hitting me anymore. I was in too much pain.

"And you were around my sister!" Alex yelled close to my face. "YOU PROBABLY LIED TO HER, TOO!"

I grabbed my stomach as I finally felt him hit there again. That one hurt. Well, all of them did.

"If I found out you hurt her OR my daughter, then so help me God, I will…" I couldn't hear the rest of what he said. Everything was echoing, and my eyes hurt too much to open. "I don't know what you are, but you are by no means human," he snapped.

I finally got my eyes open and looked up at him, scared. He raised his already red fist again. That was my blood… on his hand… on his shirt… it had to be…

"You should be DEAD!"

I tried to get away again, but my hands hurt too much to try to pull myself along the carpet. I saw blood on my clothes and gagged again as more thick stuff filled my mouth.

Something crashed and shattered, and I took a guess that it was the lamp on the book case, and I was pretty sure it had been smashed off my arm. More stuff shattered or snapped or broke and I felt like I was on fire.

"I trusted you… helped you… gave you the stinking benefit of the doubt…" Alex muttered, then started cursing, like he had been before.

He was right.

I was pathetic.

I screwed up.

No, I WAS a screw up.

I couldn't even keep the secret well enough.

I had failed.

For all I knew, I hurt McKenzie. If I had, I hadn't meant to- honest!

I deserved this, didn't I? I just never did anything right.

And all this time, he kept hitting me with whatever he could grab. And it hurt.

And Skigh… she'd probably get mad at me for not being able to keep the secret. Paige and Beck and Able… Alex would probably find out about them, too…

All because of me being a failure.

The programs on the Grid were right. I was just a misfit. I was worthless.

I was pathetic.

Even Alan couldn't fix this one.

"You're just a fake," Alex kept talking, or screeching, or whatever he was doing. He sounded really far away.

I felt like throwing up. I was in too much pain to throw up, but I was too weak to prevent it if I did.

"You're just-"

I blacked out, not hearing Alex's threat get finished.

Thankfully.

* * *

_-yeah, you're all gonna kill me now... but, uh, could you do it some other time? like in the near, or preferably DISTANT future?_

_thanks, The Altar and the Door, PrincessKai317, and elementofwater for the reviews :)_


	37. Chapter 36

_-okay, usually my notes only come at the end, but… well, i really couldn't write this through Alex's eyes (not yet), and the only other character available was, well… you'll find out soon enough. but writing in this particular character's POV was something i was a little hesitant to do. if any of it winds up being a little off, i'm sorry. but i really had no one else to work with…_

_thanks, PrincessKai317, Briannajs-22, and The Altar and the Door for reviewing. :)_

* * *

(Beck's POV)

Some one was yelling.

And they sounded, well, mad.

"It's like training with Tron all over again," I muttered, getting out from under Skigh's car. It was a beautiful car, and Mac had done a great job with it. But at the moment, that yelling was more interesting.

I brushed the dirt off my dark clothes, which I still didn't fully understand, and walked out of the garage, the door closing behind me. This place was huge, and I was mainly hoping I didn't get lost.

I followed the shouting, realizing it was Alex. He wasn't thrilled about something.

And, from what I'd heard from everyone- Skigh, Mac, Knight, and Alan- him being mad was something really bad.

As I got closer, I could make out what he was screaming.

It wasn't anything good. Skigh and Mac and everyone else had been right.

"… AROUND MY DAUGHTER!" Something got smacked and I froze. Maybe going to see what was up was a bad idea. I made sure that I wasn't making any noise as I started walking down the hall again, Alex's voice getting louder as I got closer and closer… and more nervous. "You had the-" I don't know what word he used, but it sounded like one that was probably bad "-nerve to do this to Skigh! And now my daughter!"

What was he talking about? I stopped and flattened myself against the green wall as he punched something.

And someone groaned.

I continued towards him, feeling like something really, really bad was going to happen, or was happening, or already had managed to happen.

"You-" I had to stop again as his screaming scared me, more words coming out of his mouth that I'd only heard a handful of times in my time in the User world.

I sighed and blocked him out. I hadn't seen Zed or Mara in forever. Tron was… well, the enemy now. Able was here, and that helped a little. But there was no one else from work. I sighed again, wishing that I could choke CLU for a second, as I realized that being around them after the whole Coliseum thing was probably a death wish.

Well, being the Renegade had been a death wish as well.

I noticed that he'd stopped shouting his head off. I slowly took another step, thinking back on every single stealth training simulation and suddenly wishing that this was a simulation. That way, if Alex got mad and I wound up derez- dead, the whole thing would disappear and I'd be fine.

And getting in a fight with Alex wasn't anything I really wanted to do. I could beat him, but… not looking forward to that victory.

I heard him start mumbling. "… stupid… can't believe I didn't… should've just… never noticed it… how could I have…" I sighed as only bits and pieces were audible. I took a deep breath and walked past another set of very intricate-looking doors and around the corner.

More doors. Yay…

I kept walking, making sure my grey sneakers didn't squeak on the hard wood. I really liked the carpet I'd been on before. It was softer, and it hid my footsteps better. No training simulation had hard wood User floors.

"…what do i… Skigh probably never… the audacity of him to…" I gave up on listening and walked towards the door at the far end of the hall, past the big glass elevator that Alex had in his big house. The brown door was cracked open, and I could tell that's where angry Alex was.

I took a couple deep breaths and palmed the door open.

Alex whirled around from the old wooden table behind him and glared at me. "Did you know about this?!"

I was too concerned about what, or should I say WHO, was lying on the table. I gasped and then recovered, glaring back. "What happened to him?"

Alex snickered. "Oh, you know, don't you? You know exactly what I mean! The fact that he's-"

"-lying there bleeding?!" I cut him off, getting a little mad at the fact that McKian was laying on a table, looking really, really bad, and Alex was ignoring him. "We have to help him!" I tried to walk past him.

He shoved me back, away from my friend. "Help the likes of HIM?! Help a liar?! I don't think so."

I stared at the blood that was pouring out of Mac's nose and pooling around his mouth. his breathing sounded bad. I glared at Alex, making sure my emotions weren't in control, another one of Tron's handy (and rather annoying) lessons kicking in. "What are you talking about? He's-"

"What he is is some sort of freak! He's not human!"

I hoped that I didn't look like I knew what that meant. I tried to step past Alex again, only to get shoved backwards again. I couldn't believe I hadn't put it all together sooner. "You… YOU DID THIS TO HIM!" I was inches from Alex's face, not caring at the moment how rich he was. Money was something I didn't understand too well and at the moment couldn't care less about. "What did he ever do to you?!"

"He lied to me!" Alex exclaimed, pointing at Mac. "He lied to ALL of us! Probably to you, too!"

I held back the punch that was at some point going to slam into Alex's very red face. "Oh, like you've never lied in your life!"

"You just confirmed that he's a lying s-"

"I did not!" I calmed down enough to speak before continuing. "Injuring someone isn't right."

Alex smirked. "Neither is lying."

I was ticked. I brushed past him, throwing his hand off my arm as he grabbed me and gasped as I realized just how bad McKian looked. There was a lot of red sticky blood, some already dried. His clothes were ripped, and his blue hair was almost purple from the red blood. I whirled around and glared at Alex. "What… why would you do this? He didn't deserve this!"

"I don't think you know the whole story," Alex snapped.

"I could say the same for you." I crossed my arms, wincing as Mac groaned in pain and coughed. He didn't sound good.

I glanced down at him. More blood flowed into his mouth, and I realized that if I didn't help him, he could get too much of the red stuff in his mouth.

Alex just shook his head and glared at both of us. I glared back and grabbed the rag I had in my pocket that I was supposed to use on Skigh's car. I'd forgotten it until now, and it was clean. I gently wiped the blood off Mac's mouth and then off from around his nose. His eyes. both of them, were turning black, and other dark spots covered a lot of his face. I sighed and laid the rag on the table, turning to see Alex as he said, "Just let him bleed."

I stayed quiet. I just watched him as he glared at me some more.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" he asked, shouting again.

I didn't answer.

Alex stepped closer. I noticed the blood on his shirt and his hands and arms. It didn't seem like he was bleeding at all. Wait… that was Mac's blood. I glanced at Mac as he moaned and twisted, whacking his hand off the table. He needed help, more help than I could give him anyway. Alex frowned for a second, then glared again. "We'd all be better off if I just dumped him in an alley and left him rot."

"Jerk."

Alex laughed. "Oh, so now you answer back!"

"You're wrong." I tried to stay calm. The only reason I was talking was to try to get Mac some more time, in case Skigh and Paige got back. I had to keep Alex away from him until then. "He doesn't deserve that, or THIS for that matter!"

"Deserve wha-"

We both looked at the door and I was relieved, and worried, to see Skigh standing there, looking like she was either going to fall over or derez- kill her brother. She rushed over after the shock started to fade, only to have Alex grab her and hold her back the same way he did to me. She smacked him and her eyes did that glowing thing again, only they were a little more yellow than usual as she asked, "What did you do to him?!" Her voice was shaky, and she looked more scared than angry.

Alex glared at her too. "He lied to us! He told us he was normal! He lived with you and Knight! He's a freak, Skigh! He's-"

"I've heard more than enough." Skigh turned away from him and tried to get past her brother, in the end punching him so she could pass. She gasped as she stood by me. "How…" she started crying, not saying anything else.

Alex jerked her around to face him. "How can you cry about this?! He lied to us!"

"Oh, and what would you have done, bright wonder?!" She snapped, still crying. "I suppose you would have the answer to every blasted question in a world you've never seen before!"

"Wait-" Alex stared at her, and he looked really upset… more than before, anyway. "You knew?!"

Skigh just turned back to McKian and started brushing his hair off his face. He groaned and twisted again. I sighed as Skigh noticed how badly he was hurt.

"Were you ever going to say anything?!" Alex asked, shouting.

Skigh didn't turn around as she answered, "What would've been the point? Having this happen?"

I glared at her brother before he could start yelling again. "I thought you were better than this."

Alex frowned. "What?"

"I thought you, a father, had more brains than to do something this stupid," I explained, making sure I sounded like Skigh and Alan and Knight. "Has he ever hurt you?"

"I saw his hands GLOWING!" Alex screamed. "He was doing something to my daughter, probably hurting her."

"He wouldn't hurt her."

I never heard that quiet of a voice come from Skigh. She never sounded this sad.

"And how do you know that?" Alex asked, still plenty loud, but a little quieter.

"It's not in him. But apparently it's in you." She still didn't look up from Mac, just took the rag on the table I'd used and started wiping more blood off from his face. "I thought you weren't like her… I guess I was wrong."

I watched as Alex looked shocked… and hurt. What was Skigh talking about?

Alex shook for a second. "But I'm not like her!"

"Yes, you are," Skigh shot back, facing him. "You are exactly like her! You take someone who needs a helping hand and you pound them into the ground!" She bit her lip. "I thought when you saved me from there that you were something great, that I was finally free from having to worry about everything associated with her. But I was wrong."

Alex looked down. "Skigh, I-"

"I can forgive you for this, but there's one thing you're forgetting. No, quite a few things actually. One, going to a hospital, which is what he probably needs, isn't an option for him. Two, he's already been ripped apart by basically everyone from where he's from. And three, this is assault. In case you've forgotten, McKian can press charges against you."

I froze. Charges… that sounded pretty bad.

Alex glared at SKigh for a second, then shook his head. "He hurt my daughter," he said calmly. "I'd gladly go to jail if I had to protect her."

"I swear to God that he didn't hurt her in any way, shape, or form," Skigh responded just as calmly. "He's-"

"What happened?!"

We all jumped and I saw someone kinda familiar rush in, Alex not even trying to stop him. What was his name… Ian. Yeah, this was Ian.

And he wasn't happy.

"What happened to him? I believe I already asked that," Ian hissed, staring at Mac as he got closer.

Alex glared again. "He hurt McKenzie and we got in a fight."

"Hurt McKenzie?!" Ian shook his head. "He's not like that, Alex. Haven't you-"

"I saw him do it!"

I bit my lip as Ian asked, "What did he do, exactly?"

"He was putting McKenzie down in the crib and his hands were glowing!" Alex yelled, still pretty mad.

Ian looked over his shoulder at Mac. "… his hands glowed?"

Alex nodded.

Ian looked at Skigh, then back at Mac. He turned and glared at Alex. "Do you know for a fact that he hurt her?"

"Well… it sure seemed like he-"

"That sounds like a 'no,' Alex," Ian snapped. "And that gives you no right to attack a kid like that. He needs to go to a hospital."

Skigh sighed, more tears falling. "He can't," she said softly. I noticed that his injuries weren't healing. Was he out of power? I didn't quite understand how the watch worked.

"Then he's coming home with me."

Skigh and I jumped. (At this point, I really should've been wondering where Paige was…) Ian was… what? Why?

Ian saw how shocked Skigh was and he just smiled sadly. "I still owe him for tackling me," he said. I wished I knew what that meant.

Skigh just nodded and we watched as Ian slowly slipped his arms around Mac's shoulders and his knees, then gently lifted him, almost cradling him. Mac looked really small right now, and I wasn't sure why. Ian sighed as Mac moaned in pain, his breathing starting to get worse from the blood still getting in his mouth, and probably from the pain he was in. Ian turned to Alex. "And if you show up at my home to get on his case, I'll personally kick you out… literally." He started to walk, then stopped, not even turning around. "And that is no threat. You know me well enough to know what THAT means…"

* * *

_- please review, guys! it means a lot._

_(you are all awesome!) :)_


	38. Chapter 37

**PART SIX: BEAUTIFUL**

**"Days will come when you don't have the strength, when all you hear is you're not worth anything; wondering if you ever could be loved, and if they truly saw your heart they'd see too much… You're beautiful. You were meant for so much more than all of this. You're beautiful. You are treasured- you are sacred- you are His…" -Mercyme**

* * *

"… be safe with me…"

"…never imagined he'd actually…"

"… i'm sorry for…"

I only got bits and pieces. That was it. Everything hurt. That much I got.

Even breathing hurt. It felt like something was in my mouth, and it tasted weird. At least I thought it did. Being in so much pain, I couldn't tell what I was tasting.

Something moved. It felt like whatever soft thing I was on had turned or twisted slightly, like a car would. I tried to focus on something besides the severe pain. I was on something very soft.

But… I didn't deserve anything soft. Or anything at all. I'd blown it. I hadn't meant to… but I had.

The thing I was on bumped my back, and I groaned. It hurt really bad, and it hurt for a while.

"… sorry about… these aren't the best…"

Best… yeah right. For a screw up like me, I didn't need anything that was the best.

I'd failed.

I had failed.

I had just messed everything up.

"… gotta keep the press out of this…"

I couldn't even tell who was talking, if it was a guy or a girl. They sounded really far away, though.

"… will eat him alive…"

"… know that too well…"

Another jump… or bump… or whatever that was. I groaned as something touched my head. Whatever it was was gone quickly, but the pain wasn't.

It was cold. Really cold. I didn't open my eyes, because I was afraid to… and because they were too sore, like the rest of me.

I knew it was coming. I knew it somehow.

Alex had given me what I deserved. I was a screw up.

I sighed, or I think I did. I did something. I just couldn't feel it.

I was wrong to think this had ever worked out, or that it would possibly go smoothly.

I'd ruined it.

I was a failure.

And Skigh… she probably hated me now. I didn't even want to know how she felt. She'd probably hate me for forever now.

There was another bump, and I groaned in pain as more of it filled me. Even the fight with Cyrus hadn't been this bad… wait, I'd almost lost my one arm and leg… not to mention my life. This was probably a very, very, very close second.

I knew someone was talking, but they were too far away for me to make out what they were saying.

It was probably Alex, I guessed, screaming. The voice sounded quiet, but I was out of it, and if he was screaming, I deserved it. I'd probably hurt his daughter. For all I knew, I'd killed her. He was probably yelling at me still.

Something slipped under my head, and another something under my legs. I cringed, mentally at least, as the pain got worse. Probably Alex. Maybe he was thinking of throwing me into a wall this time, or through it at the very least.

And I was too tired to fight him. Too scared to. If he threw me out a window, I deserved it. I'd failed at everything else so far. Maybe he expected me to catch myself before I splattered on the ground.

Well, I clearly couldn't, so at least I wouldn't have to fail at dying.

The pain faded and I didn't feel anything else.

* * *

_-sorry for it being short, but i didn't think McKian was going to be thinking straight for too long after the whole Alex incident. i'm also sorry for having to beat him up, but it was necessary to… well, continue it._

_thanks, The Altar and the Door, PrincessKai317, Briannajs-22, and elementofwater for the reviews! :)_


	39. Chapter 38

(Skigh's POV)

I didn't know the last time I'd slept.

Didn't know the last time I'd eaten anything.

Last time I'd talked.

Moved.

Was I even breathing?

I sighed. Okay, so I was breathing. But I could feel that I was tired. I sighed again and stared at the skylight in Ian's also very big chunk of a house; the churning storm clouds overhead looked like they understood me.

What in the world was I even thinking? They were stupid clouds. Blasted clouds. They were just there. They didn't know that… I'd never even thought to keep track of the days…

"And now I'm losing it," I muttered, falling back on the grey couch in Ian's living room, the blanket draped over the side falling over my head. The little tassels on its edges were slightly annoying as I threw it over the back again. "And now… I'm talking to myself."

I didn't hate my brother. I couldn't. I could forgive him. Already had.

But what was bothering me was how it seemed to look like Mac hadn't thrown a single punch in his own defense. For some reason, that seemed like the most idiotic and illogical thing to do.

And yet, that sounded like something he'd do.

The bad thing was he hadn't woken up yet. It had been days now… and he was still unconscious. EIther that, or he was just not wanting to wake up.

Which was something he'd have to do eventually..

…

"Please, Mac…" I bit my lip, wishing this had never happened.

I wanted to brush his hair off his forehead, but I was scared to even touch his face; there were only very minimal patches of skin without bruises or cuts. He was still having trouble breathing; and hospitals… yeah, I think you know about that…

He moaned and twisted on the bed, the red blankets twisting with him. I sat on the edge of the bed and gently took his hand in mine, seeing more bruises and cuts, and bandages. Ian had insisted on making sure McKian was comfortable, and also calm. I'd never seen him so concerned, aside from when his daughter nearly died. I gently placed my hand on his forehead, frowning. His fever… he'd had it since we first got him to Ian's… it was back. We didn't know why he had it, but he did; nothing was infected, at least not yet.

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I sighed, whispering to McKian that I'd be back. He only shifted slightly on the bed and mumbled something, like he was scared.

He probably was, too.

I closed my eyes, wishing I had that whole mind link thing he did; how was it that at the strangest and most accidental times that he wound up seeing what was inside my head, what I tried to hide from everyone?

Not that that was necessarily a bad thing- I just didn't want him seeing some of the more… scarring stuff and having nightmares for the rest of eternity over.

**"Looked down from a broken sky. Traced out by the city lights. My world from a mile high. Best seat in the house tonight…"**

I jumped and stared as his watch gently pulsed a faint blue. I felt a tear run down my face as he just laid there, the only sign of anything in him still there in existence faintly glowing at his wrist.

**"Touched down on the cold black top. Hold on for the sudden stop. Breathe in the familiar shock of confusion, and chaos…"**

I smiled. He was there. Somewhere in this now still body, my friend was in there.

**"All those people goin' somewhere- why have I never cared?…"**

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I was going to bring my friend back, my best friend back, no matter what.

**"Give me Your eyes for just one second. Give me Your eyes so I can see everything that I keep missing. Give me Your love for humanity. Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted. the ones that are far beyond my reach. Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten. Give me Your eyes so I can see…"**

Kept breathing, or at least I think I was. I can't quite remember what happened at that point, except that I was focused on Mac.

**"Step out on a busy street. See a girl and our eyes meet. Does her best to smile at me, to hide what's underneath. There's a man just to her right. Black suit and a bright red tie. Too ashamed to tell his wife he's out of work, he's buyin' time. All those people goin' somewhere- why have I never cared?…"**

Still not sure what I was doing. Sitting there. I knew that. And… that was about it…

**"I've been there a million times. A couple of million eyes. Just move and pass me by. I swear I never thought that I was wrong. Well, I want a second glance. So give me a second chance to see the way You've seen the people all along…"**

I jumped as something latched onto my hand. Opened my eyes.

McKian's hand…

I smiled and hoped he didn't open his eyes to see me crying as his bruised and bandaged hand weakly clung to mine. He didn't do anything else, excluding the fact that his chest slowly rose and fell, matching the soft beat from the music.

**"Give me Your eyes for just one second. Give me Your eyes so I can see everything that I keep missing. Give me Your love for humanity. Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted. the ones that are far beyond my reach. Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten. Give me Your eyes so I can see…"**

I could only see a blurry outline of Mac, but I knew that it was going to take some time to get my friend back… and he was going to come back, no matter how broken my brother and everyone else had managed to make him.

* * *

_-lyrics from Brandon Heath "Give Me Your Eyes"_

_thanks, Come to the Well and PrincessKai317 for reviewing :)_


	40. Chapter 39

(Alex's POV)

"And… you're sure about this?!"

The pediatrician nodded, but I was in too great of a state of overwhelming shock to notice. She couldn't possibly, truly be serious. She just couldn't… "Yes, Mr. Ryker, I'm completely serious, though I must admit," she spoke authoritatively, yet softly as she handed me her clipboard. I grimaced, feeling something disgusting and sticky on the bottom, the tacky goo coating my fingertips instantly. "I never expected this."

I looked up from the clipboard to her short frame, directly into her pale blue eyes that she was brushing her fiery long hair out of. "How-"

"I asked myself that many times, Mr. Ryker," she answered evenly, walking out of the cubicle of a room, trading the pallid white for a soft and welcoming beige, "and that's why I've ran and re-ran the test multiple times. And I'm not one to believe in that whole miracle-healing thing, so-"

"How is this possible?" I interrupted nervously, my hands shaking to the point where I was sure the papers and incredibly sticky clipboard would fall from my hands and spread out along the black carpet with the draft from overhead vents.

The doctor shrugged, adjusting the years old stethoscope around her neck, her fingers feeling around the edge of it for its clip which held a small Disney pen. "I have no idea, Mr. Ryker. Quite honestly, I would have to believe she's been healed by someone, though the odds of that are, well, less than-"

"So, she's okay now?"

She nodded, looking a little more irritated now than she did when I came into her office for the results from yesterday's test on McKenzie. It had been rather extensive, and I was probably the one to be at fault for that, wanting it to be thorough. If that…freak had laid one hand on my daughter to cause her harm, he was going to have more than a few bruises from his first beating. That I had promised myself.

But now… the test results stared back at me as the doctor turned into another hallway, her focus lost on the navigation of this labyrinth of halls. I couldn't bring myself to believe what I was seeing.

Finally, I froze, losing track of the doctor. If these results were real, and since the doctor had verified them-

"Mr. Ryker?"

I tore the papers from the clipboard, then pulled a fifty out of my pocket, hurriedly pushing the clipboard and the money for the co-pay into the pediatrician's arms. "I gotta go!"

…

I couldn't believe I'd… I'd…

Skigh was right. I was… I was her. I was just like her. I'd turned on him, on her as well.

But him hiding this whole secret… the audacity of him to… it was unforgivable-

yet what I'd done was also unforgivable. And Skigh had forgiven me. I slammed my hand off the steering wheel, feeling the fire burst into violent flames in my hand. If McKian could forgive me… knowing him, he might have. He didn't seem like that cold of a soul to hold harsh and icy grudges. It had been five days since I'd lit into McKian, and it still haunted me, seeing my father-in-law practically cradling him in his arms, not caring if his clothes that cost a good deal got dotted in unyielding blood as he carried him from my house.

And Griffyn… "Good Lord, Alex, why didn't you just bring home the divorce papers yourself?!" I muttered, recalling how she'd been not to thrilled with my actions either. Griffyn was mad, no, far past mad, when she found out I'd beaten McKian with her favorite lamp, but she had relaxed when I told her I was almost completely positive that he'd injured our baby girl.

I pressed harder on the gas, feeling my sweaty palms making it harder to steer. There was someone I had to talk to. Maybe then this would make sense, and I'd either be the idiot for beating McKian probably within an inch of his life, or the idiot for questioning his intentions.

…

"Coming…"

I sighed, realizing how stupid I felt. This was humiliating. Knocking on the door to the new additions to my sister's home. I never knew what to call it, but the mash-up of the garage, the pool, the grey, black, and white sides of the mass of an auditorium, but she just said it was home.

At the back entrance, passing the rocky flower gardens with a fleeting glance, I waited on the stairs as Knight cracked open the door, glaring. "Get off the property before I drill you into the ground," Knight hissed.

I sighed. "Knight, please. I really just need to sort things out."

"Why? So you have more reason to slam your fist into McKian's face? I don't think so."

I caught the door as he tried to close it. "Knight…"

He sighed and tore the door open. "Fine. But you beat up my friend again, and your money won't save you from me."

I nodded at him, half expecting him to connect his dark-skinned knuckles with my jaw as I stepped into the newest add ons. It looked like a duplicate of the other side under the stage. "Looks nice."

"So, you can here to admire the stuff you bought?" Knight rolled his eyes. "Thought you had a heart in that chest of yours. Guess it's just an ice cold, money-sucking rock."

"Knight, please," I begged, realizing that today was probably going to be the day I ended up groveling to get what I wanted. That area I really had no experience in, and something told me that today I was going to get far more than enough experience. "I just need to know some things about McKian. But before you punch me," I raised my hands defensively as Knight's glare turned even more ugly than the original one from the door, "I just need to know what McKian can do."

Knight shrugged. "That really isn't my area," he answered vaguely, somewhat calmer than before.

I looked away from him, realizing that this was going to be one of the hardest days of my life yet. "Well, does anyone else know?"

"Know what?"

I whirled around, seeing that girl Paige inches from my face, her nasty stare topping Knight's. "I believe I asked a question," Paige snapped, her voice very threatening.

I backed up a step, then stopped midstep as I remembered an angry Knight was behind me. "I just… want to know what Mac can do," I burst out, trying to not sound as desperate for information as I was.

"That's all?"

Beck joined her, his arms folded. I noticed that he looked like he could very easily pound me into the ground and leave no trace of his actions. I nodded in response to his question, gulping down the nervous lump in my throat.

"To be honest, we don't know the extent of it," Knight said behind me, walking around to join Paige and Beck, and I realized slightly as all three of them visibly calmed down. "He's always… expanding his horizons."

"Meaning…?"

Beck rolled his eyes. "Why do you care anyway? You're the one who beat him up."

"Look, I made a huge mistake," I admitted, trying to keep my thoughts straight. "But I want to fix it. And in order to fix it, I need to know what he can do."

"Then you should be asking me."

Another new person?! Well, that one was somewhat familiar. I gasped in shock and surprise as Alan walked in. His eyes blazed with uncertainty behind his glasses, and the dark, tall man behind him joined Beck and Paige, looking very protective, and like he could pass as Knight's father with his deep coffee colored skin. "Alan?" I finally found my voice and stared at him as he got closer to me. "What... what are you-"

"How about you take your foot out of your mouth before it's too far down your throat to get it back up?"

…

"What are you doing here?"

I started pacing in front of Alex in what appeared to be McKian and Knight's room. "I want to have some answers."

Alan shrugged, not even the beginning of a smile showing on his face. That was not promising. "Okay, what do you want to know- within reason?"

I didn't even know what reasons he meant, but I was sure I'd find out shortly. "What does he… where does he come from?"

"A place."

"What place?"

Alan shook his head. "I can just say a place that, right now, is a train-wreck. Sadly," He muttered the last word, and I frowned as I managed to make it out.

"What do you mean?"

"Tyrant ruler, constant suffering, long story."

I sighed impatiently, trying to not lose it. "If it'll help, I've got time."

"Next question."

"Does he really have powers?"

Alan just nodded.

Okay, so he'd answered that one… "What kind? Like Spider-man, or Superman, or-"

"Not exactly." Alan stopped himself. "More like not yet, anyways."

"Not yet?"

Alan waved his hand dismissively. "More questions?"

"Does he have some sort of… healing power?"

"Yes."

"Can he use it on others?"

"Yes."

Okay, that was good… "Can he use it on himself?"

"That depends."

"Depends on what?"

Alan shrugged. "If he's strong enough."

"So his powers drain his strength?"

"Not really, no."

"What powers him?"

Alan smirked. "Light, actually. And he has to be well enough for the healing energy to work."

"So, no light and no strength equals no healing?"

"Yes."

I watched as Alan turned and looked down at the one bed, the blankets not even slept on. They were just a pale blue, and they looked completely untouched. "Is that McKian's bed?"

Alan nodded. "Yeah, when he can sleep."

"Insomnia?"

"You… could call it that, I guess," Alan mumbled thoughtfully. "More like he's too busy thinking." He turned and looked at me. "Why all the questions about the healing?"

"I'd actually like to know how you know all this," I commented, watching as he frowned.

Alan shrugged again. "I believe I asked first."

I pulled the crumpled mess of papers from McKenzie's test and handed them to Alan. His eyes just scanned them, slightly widening. "This is why."

He nodded and handed them back. "Fair enough. So, you asked how I know all this?"

I nodded back. "Yeah."

I felt really stupid and my thoughts jumbled themselves into a tangled ball as he began to explain. "I met Skigh when we started working with REVOLUTION, right when she stared her show. After a while, we were friends and I asked her for a favor in exchange for some new exclusive ENCOM technology."

"The favor was to look into a… friend's project and, well, things didn't exactly go according to plan. I stopped visiting to talk to Skigh because I was a little upset at the outcome, but it wasn't her fault. I decided to go apologize and let's just say I wound up meeting McKian."

I frowned. "That's… kinda vague, Alan."

"The exact details aren't exactly what you need right now," Alan replied. "And right now, those details would take up far too much time to break down."

I sighed. "So… what now?"

"I think you owe someone an apology. And I think we both know who I mean."

I nodded slowly. "Okay…" I sighed and looked down. This was going to be one difficult day.

Alan nodded back. I wasn't able to keep much straight, other than the fact that I had completely been an idiot. "But, before you do…" Alan smirked mischievously. "I have something that you need to see."

…

"Here." Alan walked up to the super computer that stood on the stage in the auditorium, his fingertips hitting the edge and lights all around us coming to life.

I gasped in awe. "Wow…" I could only gape and stare. "I never knew they had this kind of high tech stuff. Is," I turned to Alan, "Is this ENCOM's?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Then… where's it from? Whose is it?"

Alan just smiled slightly. "McKian."

"What?!" I had a hard time wrapping my mind around that. "He couldn't-"

"You'd be amazed, Alex," Alan said, typing something into the computer. "Gee, she never changed the password," he mumbled. "Skigh, I think I might just change it on you."

"Better not," I commented as the screen lit up like the rest of the auditorium. "Woah…"

Alan nodded, like he'd seen this millions upon millions of times. "What? McKian's handiwork with your so-called super computer too shocking to comprehend?"

I shook my head. "No, it's just… I never thought…"

"Then you better clamp that mouth of your's shut so your jaw doesn't hit the floor." Alan stepped away from it and pushed the lit up desk chair my way. "And you better sit down."

I sat and stared at the screen as a blue file opened itself, a video beginning to stream.

* * *

**"Uh, Skigh…"**

**Skigh looked up at McKian by the pool. She just watched as he smiled softly. He looked slightly nervous. "There's still one more present…"**

**"There is?"**

**McKian nodded and just kept sitting by her on the chair, but they watched each other. "Yeah, and I really don't know how to give it to you…"**

* * *

"Wow…"

Alan's face broke into a grin, one of the biggest yet. He nodded slowly, his eyes betraying his calm, rather large grin with shock and surprise. "Exactly what I was thinking."

"So…" I couldn't even get my tongue to get the words out, which only made me feel worse about this entire day. "They… he… Skigh-"

"Alex?"

I was thankful for him rudely cutting me off so I stopped sounding incredibly and unbelievably stupid. "Yes?"

"Shut up before you sound even more stupid than you currently do."

I rolled my eyes and for the first time that day attempted to smile. That I was fine with. Shutting up was probably a smart thing to do, considering I still had a lot to do before this train-wreck of a day crashed to a stop.

* * *

_-thanks, Briannajs-22, PrincessKai317, Come to the Well, and QuilSniv for the reviews :)_


	41. Chapter 40

(Alex's POV)

I probably should've been quite furious right now as I walked out of the mass of a bulding Skigh called home, but I couldn't bring myself to be mad. McKian and Skigh were... engaged. That I did NOT see coming. For all I knew, McKian had done that without the knowledge of… well, maybe he did know. But the way he went about it, odds were that he weren't.

And how in God's name did Alan know?! That was a little scary, but McKian had probably tried to ask Alan for help. It seemed like he confided in Alan whenever there was something he didn't know… but that did sound somewhat extreme in a certain light. That would mean him asking Alan constantly-

or admitting he needed some assistance from Skigh.

I stared at the crops of houses and little clumps of gardens surrounding the auditorium, looking quite small in comparison. The one neighbor, an elderly man with just a few patches of snow white hair popping up here and there smiled and waddled his slightly heavy frame down the sidewalk. "Hey there!"

I smiled as best I could after the experiences this day had provided and watched as he waved. I raised my shaky hand in response. "Hello."

"Hey, you seen that kid Skigh around anywhere?" he asked, partially shouting, probably explaining the two massive hearing aids. His bright blue eyes stared me down, and now there was no way of getting out of this one.

"Uh, I believe she's… at a friend's," I guessed, hoping that didn't sound like a lie. Truly, in all honestly, that wasn't much of a lie. She was at Ian's, and he was a friend, and family.

The man nodded, somewhat sadly. "Ah, okay."

"Why? Are you looking for her?"

"Yeah, kinda," the man mumbled. He scratched his nearly bald head and then adjusted his red sweater, despite the strange wave of October heat. "She always talks with me, her and that kid who looks like a Smurf."

Smurf? Yeah, having blue hair didn't exactly classify McKian as a smurf… "They do?"

"Yeah, they're the only ones I have to talk to ever since my wife died." The man shrugged. "Is that Able guy there?"

"I think so…"

"Well, he's pretty nice." The man started waddling again, heading for the door to the auditorium. "I'll go talk to him. See ya, buddy." He walked off.

I stared at him, watching him until he disappeared behind the door. Just how much did those two do that… my actions had interrupted?

…

This was probably going to be one of the hardest things I ever had to do in my life. But it had to be done nonetheless.

I took a deep breath, yet it still seemed and sounded awfully shallow. Raising my hand slowly, I wrapped my fingers into a tight fist and knocked on the door.

**"You don't need to be scared here. I won't hurt you."**

I cringed as the memory replayed itself in my mind. It had been what seemed like forever since those words had left my lips to reassure… and now…

**"I didn't mean to scare you."**

I didn't hear anyone coming yet, but I wished someone would, their approaching footsteps drowning out the sound of the past. When had I become this… this monster?

**"I won't hurt you, I swear."**

I'd broken that promise to Skigh… I couldn't believe I'd broken it. I'd hurt her by doing this. Assuming that McKian was capable of injuring someone- I knew he could easily, but this was different- was just stupid. I'd probably lost his trust, and Skigh's as well.

**"…I'm not going to hurt you, and no one else will."**

I noticed the door crack open and I slowly looked up from my feet to see Skigh standing there, looking just like she had three years ago. She bit her lip, tears starting to fill her eyes. I felt mine water, but decided I'd probably be better off not crying just yet, or at all if possible, today, as I managed to get out, "I'm sorry."

Skigh threw the door open. "What?" She was shocked. I was too, after seeing her face. Had I really been this cold and angry lately to make her revert back to what she had been when I'd first met her?

"I…I'm so sorry," I repeated, louder. I felt one tear roll down my cheek and didn't even try to stop it.

She stepped back, and for a second I thought she was going to run and hide somewhere like she used to. Instead, she smiled. It was a small smile, but it was there. "So… what made you revert back from my worst childhood and suddenly present day nightmare back into the guy I met in that alley?"

I felt a smile tug at my lips, and there was no stopping it. "I realized what a-" the word I'd used at the time was, well, not exactly something Skigh approved of, but it made her cautious smile grow and made me feel a little better about the whole situation, "-I was being." Now to move on to the matter I'd mainly come here for. "I'm going to sound like a total idiot for this, but… how is McKian?"

Skigh's smile vanished. "He… he only wakes up for a minute or two, then…" she looked away. "Then he just goes back to sleep. He h-had a fever, but it's g-gone, for now at least," she stammered through the last half.

I had caused this.

And now, I had to fix it the best I could.

I just hoped I could…

...

"Oh God…"

I couldn't believe I'd… how… I…

I was grateful for the fact that Skigh had left the room. Had she still been in here, I may have lost my mind.

McKian's skin was snow white, and he looked really thin. He probably hadn't eaten anything… or much of anything since I'd… Every bruise was darker and ugly from his skin being so light. He had a lot of bandages, and bits of blood peeked through the coverings, making my stomach churn and tie itself in knots. I noticed how innocent he looked for the first time, even some of the tattoos on his arms sliced through and disrupted by my actions days ago.

So my original assumptions had been right. McKian was not normal. But not all of those assumptions were correct. He wasn't the possible lunatic I imagined him as. He was a teenager.

I'd beat up a kid.

Great…

"McKian?" I whispered, grabbing the chair by the bed and pulling it to the side of the bed, then sitting next to the unmoving figure laying on the massive bed in front of me. "McKian… Mac, please… you can hear me, right?"

I barely noticed his bandaged fingers twitching slightly on the dark red covers. I wondered if the covers were hiding any blood. "I'll take that as a 'yes', than?"

His fingers wiggled again.

"Mac… I'm sorry. I never…" I sighed. This was going to be hard to do...

* * *

_-yeah, Alex's POV again… i don't know whether to punch him, or choke him..._

_thanks, Come to the Well and PrincessKai317 for reviewing :)_


	42. Chapter 41

(Mac's POV)

Everything hurt.

I guess I deserved that much.

I'd heard Alex talking, well, part of what he'd said at least. But what I'd heard, I couldn't believe. I-

Wait.

Alex was HERE. Here.

No…

I forced my eyes open and noticed the size of the bed I was on. For a moment, I thought my vision was off. This bed was way too big…

I shouldn't be here.

Wherever I was, Alex was there, too...

He was probably still mad at me, no matter what he'd said. I shouldn't be here at all. I had to get out of here, but the big door with lots of carvings looked way too far away, and I felt like passing out again. I felt sick just looking around.

There HAD to be a way out of… wherever I was. This room was new to me.

I sighed and pushed myself up, feeling everything hurt more and more. Maybe sitting up was a bad idea, but I had to get out of here. So no, sitting up was good. The pain was the bad part.

Now if I could only get up and get out of here, this would be a lot better. But would moving cause more pain? It definitely seemed like it, but…

Something beeped. I jumped, wincing as there was more pain. I looked down. These clothes… were not mine. They were big, and they were really warm. They looked like… they were like what Knight slept in, but these weren't his. They would have fit me better.

The thing beeped again. I picked up my arm and gasped, not only from pain, but from the fact that…

the watch was glowing that rare green again, and that meant…

I smiled, ignoring the pain that caused. I had a way out of here. I had a way to get away from Alex. I had a way to get away foam anyone else ready to beat me up, even though I truly deserved it. I had forgiven Alex, and mainly because I was a failure who deserved to get beat up.

But right now…

Now was the time to get out of here.

* * *

…

* * *

(Knight's POV)

"Uh, Paige? Beck?"

"Yeah?"

I was a little relieved to hear them answer back, but… CRAP. "Uh, either of you seen furry thing 1 and furry thing 2?"

"Um…"

"JUMP DIRVE AND RAM!" I shouted, really nervous. Crap. This was bad. This was very bad. This was very, very bad.

I heard Beck shout back from the garage, "NO!"

"Great…" I ran out of the sound room, letting the newly edited footage render to the discs and hard drive and flew down to where, now, me, Beck, and Able (and when he got back, Mac) had our rooms. With Alan's help, I'd managed to break the super computer in two and give Skigh and Paige half. But now…

I needed our half.

Nervous.

Crap.

Freaking out.

Bad, bad, bad, bad…

Okay, now I sound like some sort of idiot to you, huh? Like the dumbest one ever, huh? Because I keep repeating stuff, h- okay, I repeat stuff a lot, especially when I'm freaking out because things are very, very bad and I am very, very nervous.

Which I am now…

To you, I must sound really stupid.

I stared in shock as the screen lit up, playing the old security footage from the Grid. What… how… the link was… OPEN?!

"How in the world…?" I was past thinking straight. At the moment, I truly was some sort of idiot. "What-"

"It's open?!"

I whirled around, probably some really dumbstruck look on my face. Alan…

Well, if my face looked anything like his, I had nothing to worry about. He was holding the two little bunnies, Jump Drive's black body drowned out by his blue pulsing lights, and the same went for RAM, her pink-purple lights just as bright, brighter than ever before. He really looked freaked out, more so than me.

* * *

…

* * *

(_And… back to_ Mac's POV_-__ hey, this is fun!_)

What… how… when…?

I stared at the barren land stretching out ahead of me. This… This was bad.

There was nothing left…

The dark ground cracked under my feet and I jumped as blue-yellow pixels swallowed the ground the second I'd jumped from that spot.

The Grid…

It looked like it had been destroyed. Everything was gone. Even the sky was gone. It was just dark, the glow from the cracked ground lighting up bits and pieces of the remains ahead of me. I still ached, and since there was no light, I wasn't healing very much at all.

I tapped my watch with my hand, too tired to remember I could command it mentally. A blue keyboard floated up from the screen and I typed in, "FIND CLU."

I stared at the search result:

PROGRAM NONEXISTENT.

Okay… "FIND FLYNN," I typed, knowing that it was probably not gonna show anythi-

USER NONEXISTENT.

That was new.

I sighed, suddenly dizzy.

I typed more, quickly in case I passed out and froze. The Grid was blocked off. It was in some sort of storage.

It was…

It was falling apart, and no one was bothering to save it.

The ground cracked again and I just missed falling through the ground into the churning mess of yellow and blue pixels underfoot. I realized my vocab was a lot better right now, though I had no idea why.

I typed in one final command. "SCAN FOR FUNCTIONING PROGRAMS."

The screen flashed, like it was taking it's time to complete the scan. As it took longer and longer, I started wondering if Beck, Paige, Able and I were the last programs left. If we were, I didn't deserve to be one of the last ones left. I really didn't. I-

ONE PROGRAM DETECTED.

Wait, one?! I glanced at the read-out of how they were functioning and tapped the watch again, the keyboard disappearing and the tracking device taking it's place as I started running, my body protesting under the black suit with the light green and blue lights I'd known for so long, yet hadn't worn. It hurt to move at all, let alone this fast.

But this one remaining program was more important than I was. I was saving them, even if I derezzed in the process.

* * *

_-okay, back on the Grid! FINALLY! yeah, i'm kinda killing it… what? i thought we wanted to get back on the Grid. no one said not to destroy it...  
_

_sorry for it taking so long, but i had to make Alex the bad guy- i was waiting for his big "i'm such an idiot" moment since i started this series. i know i kinda jumped over a lot of LEGACY, but i wanted to... ugh, can't say what just yet! so now, this is after LEGACY.  
_

_and now... i want chocolate..._

_thanks, PrincessKai317 and Come to the Well for reviewing :) the reviews mean a lot, guys :)_


	43. Chapter 42

(Skigh's POV)

"Knight?… Yeah- no… WHAT?!… does Alan know?" I was grateful for the massive antique leather couch of Ian's behind me, mainly because if it wasn't there, I would've fallen on my butt from shock.

The link with the Grid…

it was open.

And Alex, standing nearby, looked at me like I'd lost it.

Well, that expression of his was gonna probably only get worse; hey, maybe in a matter of seconds it would be… it would be priceless. And I would need a camera so I could prove to Mr. Impulsive-and-Unbelieving that he really had made that kind of face later on.

I finished the call, the details of what I'd said… well, a big jumble of words I'd forgotten over time. I took a deep breath, not pausing too long because I wanted to confirm that the connection was back and see if-

MCKIAN!

I ran out of the room and dashed through the halls, slipping several times on the slippery rugs and just waxed floors. Man… rich people… Me not liking this fancy house thing much.

Stopped just outside Mac's room. What if he was still… but he'd know if the… should I…?

"For the love of God, I'm just going in," I mumbled, my feet freezing to the floor as I saw that Mac's massive bed-

was empty.

"Oh, good God, no…" I felt my hands come up to my head as I tried to comprehend what… where…

Without a moment of hesitation, I threw off my fingerless gloves, my scars on the left hand exposed, and the screen on the right cased over with a flesh tone cover that it had when it was powered down. I tapped it and hit the Ultimatum mode, scanning for McKian. The scan was just beginning, using all of my focus-

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOUR HAND?!"

I whirled around, mentally urging the scan to continue, as I took in Alex's freaked out expression. Oh… I kinda forgot that. "Yeah, yeah. Screen in my hand- nothing serious."

"There's… a screen… and i-it's lit up…" Alex stammered as he tried to process what his eyesight showed him, "and it's i-in your h-hand… and it's gl-glowing… and-"

"Alex, sit down before you fall down," I said in response to his confused attempt at comprehension, shoving him onto the bed.

The scan showed no sign of Mac… anywhere.

Wait…

Alex finally calmed down somewhat; enough to talk without sounding like a complete idiot. "Wait, where's McKian?!"

And now back to crazy Alex. "Not here," I stated the obvious, realizing Alex was gonna know far more now than I ever hoped.

Yay…

I stared at the screen in my hand. McKian was… where?! No, he couldn't possibly… but he… he was too weak to probably even stand… and yet…

I, for a second, considered using the Transport option imbedded in my hand and bloodstream (and good God, who knows what else this thing was hooked up to), but then remembered that dear big brother Alex was watching. More like staring. Staring like he'd lost it.

Oh, this was just…

Life was definitely not easy.

Not. At. All.

Ever.

…

"To go back, or not to go back…" I sighed and threw my head in my hands.

Of course I was going back; the question I should've been focused on was WHEN.

All I knew in regard to that was that it was going to be soon.

Very soon.

* * *

…

* * *

(Alex's POV)

So… Beck and Paige and Skigh and… that Able guy were here in Ian's house…

Why did all of them need to be here? All of them were in on Mac's secret, but… why were four people needed for something that I assumed was overwhelmingly simplistic? Get McKian back from wherever the poor kid had managed to hobble off to.

"Okay, so we're all ready?" Skigh asked. I frowned at her inquiry. Why would she need to ask that kind of question?

I watched, staring as each one either answered audibly or nodded, everyone's eyes filled with a staggering amount of focus and what I interpreted as concern. Skigh nodded in response, a wan smile appearing. She tapped the screen on her hand and I felt my blood slowly churn itself into ice water as I saw it again.

What was a screen doing in her hand?! My sister's hand?! It… it wasn't natural or right by any means… and yet, she just thought it was normal.

How much was I missing here?

Skigh closed her eyes, briefly looking at me before they slipped shut, and the four of them vanished in a glistening blue blur. The noise they made was… I couldn't even begin to make heads or tails of it. It was fascinating, like each one of them had a specific noise. The sounds were soft, but they- they were just breath-taking.

And then a fifth sound joined the harmony.

I turned around, the outline of a figure behind me vanishing as well. I couldn't make out who it was, but they were gone in seconds, and as I turned back to where my sister and her friends had been, they too were no more.

What had just happened?

* * *

_-yeah, messing with Alex… it's fun._

_you guys can probably guess who the fifth person was to disappear, mainly because i'm gonna need to use them for… certain elements in future chapters. ;)_

_and speaking of future chapters- there's only going to be 2 more of them in this book. no, that won't be the end just yet, but the end needs to be on its own, apart from this, mainly because i'm kinda sick of Alex…_

_sorry for the shortness of the chapter, but the next one will be longer!_

_thanks, Come to the Well, Briannajs-22 and PrincessKai317 for reviewing :)_


	44. Chapter 43

(Alex's POV)

"… and they just disappeared?"

Ian looked across from the couch he was lounging on the the one I was sitting on with incredibly rigid posture. The man… my father-in-law… he probably thought I'd lost every little bit of brain I had! I was starting to think I was, after watching something that resembled the whole Star Trek transport thing, whatever the real name for that whole process was.

I managed a nod.

"Hmm…"

That was not a promising thing coming out of Ian's mouth. The man was thinking, the cogs in his brain turning. Wisdom, a rebuke, irony, some seemingly unrelated anecdote- something was going to come pouring out of his mouth and no matter what it was, I mentally prepared for my head to spin in shock.

"Sounds believable."

I stared at him, dumbfounded. "Believable? How in the Good Lord's name is that-"

"Well, just about a week ago, I wouldn't believe you were capable of that audacity, and I wouldn't have quite guessed McKian was THAT different…" Ian just shrugged and smirked, his lips curling an action that made me all the more tense. "And now, everything I never would've dreamt of has become a reality."

"You make this sound normal," I stated, my own bluntness surprising me.

Ian just nodded, looking wiser than ever before. "Well, for Skigh and those friends of her's, this has become commonplace. I'm pretty sure that Matt kid would agree."

"Knight might not-"

"Who?"

Oh, yeah… Ian doesn't know Matt's nickname, genius! My brain was probably either on the verge of explosion, or on the edge of overdrive and beyond. "Matt," I began by correcting myself in my error, "might not completely agree."

"But he lives with them."

I nodded, not able to push aside my growing confusion and do much else.

"And he works with them."

I answered with a faint yes, not quite sure where he was going with this.

"And he, like Skigh, knew. So how can he not have adjusted, even the slightest bit, to these happenings?"

"You're a wise man, you know that?"

Ian just smirked, and I realized this was how he'd become the success he was. "So I've been told. But I am no Solomon."

"He had seven hundred wives-"

"And that's one reason I am NOT Solomon," Ian said simply.

I sighed, trying to find a way to shatter the awkward silence that settled over us. "Look, I really didn't mean to hurt McKian like that. I just… I-"

"You went berserk were you saw him taking care of your daughter and, well, got some practice in on how you'll end up reacting when she first brings home a boy?" Ian finished.

I nodded. "Yeah. I guess so. Wait, I'm not gonna beat up her boyfriend… right?"

"Well, you beat up your sister's… so… no comment."

* * *

**"Skigh?"**

**Skigh backed away from me on her bed, curling the sheets in her hands, shaking fiercely. She just stared at me, her brown eyes filled with fear and innocence, but also with pain. I sighed. "Skigh, please…"**

**She just pressed against the wall more, her shirt pulling, despite being huge, and showed her ribs clearly still, even after she'd been with me for a month. I knew she'd been eating more, but she was still terrified.**

**"Skigh, I'm not going to hurt you. I just," I tried again, hoping this approach was going to be the one that got her out of that bed, "need to take care of your arm. Please…"**

**She scooted closer to me, but was still close to the wall, cradling her injured arm. Yesterday, we had been out, getting her some pain medications in case she needed them and some groceries and in order to miss getting hit by a car that sped towards us in the crosswalk, Skigh had pushed me so if either of us got hit, it would be her. She made it out of the way, but not without tripping and landing on her arm, the harsh edge of the asphalt unforgiving, slicing her arm open.**

**As I looked now, the bandages around her arm were clouded with blood. "Skigh, please let me help."**

**Skigh finally scooted forward and as I worked on her arm, trying to be as gentle as possible. Every time I touched her arm though, she flinched or bit her lip. I glanced at her eyes once in a while, seeing how she was struggling to not start crying.**

**She had been hurt so badly… I wished that she would stop cringing. But I quickly forgot that. She was scared, and no matter how annoyed it made me, she was going to shy away from everything for a while…**

* * *

I sat up in bed, still groggy from the lack of sleep I'd faced the past couple days. Was this what Skigh felt like when she slept, reliving her life every time her eyes closed? I hated this!

But I needed to sleep, even if only for a little while. And these memories were NOT going to haunt me!

* * *

**I was not in a good mood.**

**I'd gone to REVOLUTION and had come home a little more aggravated than I would've liked to after having to ride security for harassing my nine thirty appointment for accidentally tripping one of them.**

**So I was ticked off.**

**Skigh just sat on the couch, staring at me. I glared at her, not realizing just how mad I apparently looked. "What?" I snarled.**

**Skigh jumped off the couch and ran, not saying a word.**

**I rolled my eyes, too caught up with everything from work to notice that I'd scared Skigh off with my anger. It took me a while before I recognized the fear in her eyes that… I'd been working to drain from them and replace with a calm, peaceful look.**

**I had probably just wrecked that.**

**But I was too flustered to stand up and find her. Wherever she'd ran off to, she could stay there a little longer.**

**Finally, I got up and went to enter her room, thinking she was most likely there, but I looked away from the door, my gaze shifting the to kitchen. Maybe a cup of coffee or something would calm me down.**

**Holding my coffee, after sitting in the kitchen like I had on the couch, I walked over to Skigh's room and-**

**she wasn't there.**

**I just shrugged and checked her room thoroughly.**

**She wasn't there.**

**I checked everywhere, finally dumbing down the anger I had, replacing it with fear. Where was she? She'd never disappeared like this before-**

**A loud crash of thunder echoed and I looked out through the massive windows, seeing the rain come pouring down. Lightning lit up the mountain more than the lights and I cringed. If she wasn't in here, then… was she out there? In that mess?**

**I left my half-finished cup of coffee on the kitchen counter and ran outside, pulling my massive overcoat's hood over my head. "SKIGH!" I screamed repeatedly, looking everywhere for my sister. I kept thinking back to when she'd ran. She was looking out the window right before she bolted, like there was something outside. "SKIGH!" I could feel the rain water fill my leather shoes, probably destroying them for forever, but Skigh was worth their destruction. I shouldn't have scared her.**

**And I had.**

**"SKIGH!" I yelled again, jumping as another streak of lightning lit up the sky and I noticed ahead of me someone sitting on a rock, a small ledge overhead keeping them somewhat dry. I ran forward, making out Skigh's pale face as more lightning flashed. She had been crying.**

**And that was because of me.**

**As I got closer, I noticed she was holding something, cradling it in her tiny arms. I got closer yet and stared at a little puppy in her hands, shaking as she held it close. Both were soaked, and it looked like both of them had previously been covered in mud, only to have the downpour wash it off. "Skigh?"**

**Skigh jumped and looked up slowly, her eyes bloodshot as they were now only inches from mine as I knelt beside her. She was shaking as much as the tiny Beagle she held.**

**"Here," I said, not exactly what I wanted to say, but said it anyway, "let's go home."**

**Skigh stood up, still clutching the puppy. I rolled my eyes. "And put that mutt down!" I added, exasperated.**

**"No."**

**I glared at Skigh. "No?"**

**"You're g-gonna let her g-get hurt just be-because she doesn't know w-where her home i-is?" Skigh stammered, shivering.**

**I bit my lip. "Fine. Bring the stupid thing," I muttered, my anger coming back.**

**As Skigh trudged behind me, I heard her mumble something and I just listened, assuming it was something bad coming out of her mouth. But when the storm quieted enough to hear for only a matter of seconds, I heard it:**

**"He's like her. I thought things were finally getting better… I guess not."**

**I sighed and kept walking. Her going out and grabbing the stupid puppy was idiotic. It was just a stray. It would find a home soon, or get itself killed trying.**

**I stared at the kitchen clock later on, after getting out of my wet clothes and grabbing a warm cup of coffee. Skigh had just went into her room, taking the puppy. I sighed. Why was she so fascinated by that mutt?! True, it was cute. But as I'd said earlier, it was a stray-**

**that was it.**

**I groaned. "Stupid!" I mumbled, realizing THAT was why she wanted to keep the puppy. It was alone. It needed a home.**

**And I'd told her to basically kick it aside.**

**And then I remembered her mumbling. I threw my now-aching head in my hands. I'd made her think I was some sort of angry hypocrite. I had no right to take my anger out on her. She had enough that shouldn't be stuck in her head.**

**I got up, abandoning yet a second cup of coffee and heading for her room, no detours this time. I walked in and gasped.**

**The puppy lay on the bed, her head draped over one of Skigh's arms, only lifting it to occasionally lick Skigh's arm-**

**"Oh Good God!" I rushed to the bed, noticing Skigh was still in her wet clothes. It looked like she'd just collapsed onto the bed as soon as we'd gotten back. The puppy looked up at me and whimpered, and I cringed, realizing that it had probably noticed something was wrong with Skigh. "Skigh," I started to plead, "Skigh, please wake up."**

**Skigh's eyes remained shut as I tried another tactic to wake her. I shook her arm, realizing that her skin was very cold. She was going to get a fever soon in these clothes. "Skigh, wake up!" I sighed. She whimpered, but didn't wake up. She was out.**

**I lifted her into my arms, the puppy hopping up in Skigh's lap. I smirked. "Okay, you come too."**

* * *

I woke up again.

"Am I some sort of Scrooge or something?!" I whispered to the slightly hot air in the room. "I already fixed my mistake!" I seriously started feeling bad for Charles Dickens' Scrooge, wondering how he stayed sane after that night. My dreams weren't even close to that, and I was thinking I was crazy.

I threw the blankets off and watched as they fell to the floor. My sweatpants and sweat shirt joined them, leaving me in a t-shirt and boxers. I was too shot to care. I just wanted to sleep.

* * *

**Skigh looked really small in one of my shirts. Someone had had to get her out of her wet clothes, and that wound up being me. After finally getting her into something dry, however, I realized that the whole time she'd been whimpering as she slept, her skin slightly hot. A fever was most likely on it's way.**

**And it was coming because of me.**

**I sighed and gently brushed her dark hair out of her face, watching as it slowly turned from chalk white to a flushed red. She twisted as my fingers touched her hot forehead, and I sighed again. I glanced at the clock, realizing I had one hour before I was supposed to be at work at five in the morning. I pulled my phone out and quickly dialed work. "This is Alex Ryker… yes, I know, the deal closes tomorrow… I won't be in today… I don't know. I might be there tomo- I can still sign it!… actually, I do have a good reason, Hunter, and if you- this is ten times more important than signing that deal!… you do realize I'm only signing to put vending machines in the building-?… look, if anyone asks, I'm not there for a reason that's ten times more important than that deal… and THAT'S what you'll say if you like your cushy job behind that desk of yours… that's what I thought… just keep your mouth shut about why I'm not there for tomorrow and you'll have a bonus waiting… exactly. Goodbye."**

**I turned off my phone and set it on my dresser, watching as Skigh just laid there, her face now almost a normal skin tone. Maybe the fever was going to avoid torturing her. The deal was still going to be fine. And besides, that secretary needed to shut it! There was also the contract that had been the top topic of every news station for a while now- Ian and I joining forces in the future. And for now, I'd managed to keep Skigh out of the spotlight.**

**Soon, though, I had a feeling the media was going to find her out.**

**As the rest of the day played out, I stayed close to Skigh, only leaving her twice- to get some water for her when she woke up, and to get the little puppy some food. The dog refused to leave Skigh.**

**As I walked in with the water bottle for Skigh, I saw her weakly twisting on the bed, like she was dreaming. I sat beside her and she mumbled, "Please! Please…"**

**I frowned and tried to hold her down a little as she started thrashing around, definitely scared of something I wasn't seeing. "I didn't- didn't do it!" She kept mumbling for several minutes, saying stuff about being sorry for being a failure, just wanting a friend, and how she never belonged anywhere...**

**I smiled and relaxed as she slowly opened her eyes. She glanced around, seeing the walls of my room, the blanket draped over her, her sopping wet clothes replaced with one of my shirts, and the little puppy laying beside her-**

**and then me.**

**Her eyes widened. She was terrified of me.**

**"Skigh, are you okay?" I asked, concerned with how pale she'd just gotten.**

**Skigh just nodded quickly and stared at me, her eyes still ready to bulge out of her head from fright.**

**I tried smiling at her. "You sure?"**

**She just nodded again.**

**"Skigh…" I had to get this out. "I'm sorry. I was just mad about work and had no right to take it out on you."**

**I felt relieved, but was back to nervous as Skigh said something I didn't catch. "What?"**

**Skigh looked down. "If you wanna send me back, you can."**

**I was shocked. Send her back there?! I wasn't sadistic. "Skigh, no! I don't want to send you back! I want you here! I love you!"**

**Skigh looked up at me, tears running down her pale face as she asked in the most timid voice probably ever known to man, "You mean it? You're n-not just saying that to make me be quiet?"**

**What had happened to her there?! "No, no. Skigh, I really do love you. I didn't mean to be nasty yesterday-" wait a second- "-did you eat anything yesterday?"**

**"No." Skigh looked down again.**

**I realized that she was thinking, once again, that she was a failure. "Skigh, please, when I'm not here, you need to eat, okay?"**

**She nodded and didn't look up.**

**"Skigh, I'm not mad at you. I'm just concerned about you. Please, you don't need to be busy doing stuff to please me. You don't have to be perfect. You are NO failure. You're my sister, and I care about you."**

**Skigh's tears fell faster as she smiled slightly. I hugged her, both of us laughing as the puppy joined the hug. "Alex?"**

**"Yeah?"**

**"Can… can we find her home?" Skigh asked, still nervous around me.**

**I nodded and smiled. "Sure." I noticed the pink dog collar on the dog and found her name. "I'll call Sherby's owner in a minute. But right now, I need another hug."**

**Skigh smiled, but I could see that she was always going to think she was a failure in ways that I wasn't able to comprehend.**

* * *

I sat there for hours that morning, unable to sleep anymore.

That failure… Skigh still was haunted by that… and judging from McKian and how he acted-

he was like Skigh had been.

Wherever he was from, he must've been considered a failure. But… he'd helped Skigh- I saw that now. And he'd healed McKenzie. I couldn't find anything bad about him…

I pushed myself up from the bed and closed my eyes. Skigh had probably been working to correct that error of his, and I'd destroyed her work by calling him every name I could think of.

This I had to fix, whenever they got back from wherever they'd gone to.

And I was going to fix it, even if it killed me, because McKian Karson was no failure.

He deserved far better than that…

I smiled. "I think I might need Ian for this one…"

* * *

_-well, one more chapter left, and then this book's done. and then Embers comes out :)_

_thanks, Briannajs-22, Come to the Well, and PrincessKai317 for the reviews :)_


	45. Chapter 44

(Skigh's POV)

What...?

I struggled to get any words to form. "Alan-"

"This is not good," he gasped hoarsely. "I know that much."

Paige and Beck... they were very, very pale; Beck looked like he was gonna fall over.

What in the world happened?

The yellow and blue code cracking under our feet kinda confirmed the fact that the Grid was near total destruction; we hadn't been gone THAT long… had we?

There was no one… anywhere. As we trudged (I seriously thought I'd never say that I "trudged" anywhere- just a really weird word) along, I noticed there was also nothing. "Alan?"

"Yeah?"

"Did Sam… by any chance…" I sighed, afraid to finish my question, "… possibly-"

Alan cut me off with a sigh of his own. "I don't know what happened, but I don't think Sam's even bothered to check on this place since he-" Alan stopped.

"Are you saying-"

Alan just nodded and I stopped walking for a second, my feet aching from trying to avoid every little crackling bit of ground. My suit was back, the few white lights warm and inviting; Beck and Paige's suits were back as well, Beck's lights a calm blue and Paige's the modified purple we'd set her up with. Able's suit was the same, but… what in the world was Alan wearing? Some sort of dark robe with a light streak down the front and curving around the collar?

That was new.

How had the link between us and the Grid possibly become rebuilt when the Grid was basically falling to bits?! And-

where was McKian?!

I'd seen more than enough holes breaking through the ground, and hopefully he hadn't fallen into one of them; hopefully something hadn't happened to him already.

"Hey, guys!"

I jumped, startled at Beck's shout. "Over here!"

Everything was kinda a blur, but the crackled imprints of someone walking lined the ground.

Wait- someone running.

The steps, now farther apart, were hopefully Mac's. All of us were now running alongside them, matching their pace.

"WHOA!"

Skidded to a stop behind Able and Beck, Alan nearly running full tilt into Able's back. "What?"

"Listen," beck just said, staring ahead of us.

Paige turned, apparently hearing something. "What is that?"

I listened, hearing… what in the world… what that growling?! "I don't remember the Grid having freakishly loud cats," I muttered, watching as Alan frowned.

"That doesn't sound good…" He bit his lip. "What IS that?!"

I shrugged. "Hey, Beck, what-"

Beck was gone.

No ground swallowing him up. No footprints. No anything.

Beck was gone.

Paige stared out in the direction of the noise, her hair, now much longer, blowing in the icy breeze; I was wondering how she could see. "There!" She let off the rocky ledge we were on and took off, following the distant blue lights.

Alan sighed. "I'm getting too old for this!"

I ran alongside him. "I think I am too."

"You're eighteen!"

"Oh, right… how old are you again?"

"Shut up!" Alan chuckled, shaking his head. His blue eyes sparkled, but they seemed a little scared. What was going on in his head?

Maybe… I didn't really want the answer to that…

…

"BECK!"

Beck whirled around; we'd been chasing after him for a while. Dear God, that guy was fast! The U. S. need anyone for the Olympics?

Able sighed, breathing hard. "Still running into things without thinking?"

"I believe that's more Tron's style, not mine," Beck commented, his face more pale than it ever had been on the Grid.

"Wait, which one of you was the one who cut the head off a statue-"

"SHUT UP!"

Despite everything being pretty dismal, we all laughed at Beck's way of cutting me off. He just smirked and started running again, stopping only to listen again.

But not to the growling which had faded.

**"We were alone on the road driving faster, so far from home, we were chasing disaster…"**

Able's head swiveled around like an owl's in interest. "What was that?"

**"Hard on the gas till the car caught on fire. We had to laugh as the smoke billowed higher…"**

"Why would you laugh at that?!" Able nearly shouted, shocked. "What- who- WHERE is that coming from?!"

Music… wait!

"McKian," Me, Alan, Beck and Paige all said at once.

Able sighed. "Gee, I get left out of something here, or…?"

**"I wanna feel alive forever after. And you say, you say you wanna feel alive forever after. And I, and I, and I say- Follow the light through the dreams and disasters. Follow the light to the edge and the after. We won't turn around- we will not slow down. Follow the light through the dreams and disasters…"**

Well, wherever he was, Mac had the watch cranked; it was either really loud, or we were pretty stinking close. I'd tried using my abilities to find him, but the screens as malfunctioning or something; probably the derezzing of the Grid was frying the poor thing.

Wait… if the screen stopped, and Mac's watch stopped…

oh, this could be bad!

**"Sting of the sun and the sound of it rising. Still on the run with our eyes on the horizon…"**

Alan frowned; I noticed he was staring at me, and he looked concerned. "You okay?"

I nodded, realizing after the action that it was a lie. I wasn't. At all.

What if Tron was… gone?

What if everything here ceased to exist? What would become of Beck and Paige? Of Able?

And McKian… what about him?

Suddenly, Paige and Beck simultaneously fell to the ground, not from it cracking open beneath them, but what appeared to be from pain. I knelt beside them, Able and Alan close by. As soon as I dropped to my knees they sat up, just dazed. As Alan and Able helped them up, I froze in horror.

The Grid was slowly derezzing… and it was going to take them with it…

**"I wanna feel alive forever after. And you say, you say you wanna feel alive forever after. And I, and I, and I say…"**

That music had really ironic timing! Good God, I-

"What's that?"

I only noticed I'd spoken the question aloud as Alan stood by me. "I…" his blue eyes widened. "Um… That looks like an injured program…"

The program had a few flickering blue circuits; each one was extremely dim.

Not too promising.

**"Follow the light through the dreams and disasters. Follow the light to the edge and the after. We won't turn around- we will not slow down. Follow the light through the dreams and disasters…"**

And… that's where the music was coming from.

As we got closer, the program didn't look like Mac… at all. It was a guy, but he was built differently, and his circuits weren't even a close match with McKian's. He was mumbling something to a dark form, a dark huddled form, I should say, and his helmet concealed his face. Great...

* * *

…

* * *

(Mac's POV)

What… had… happened?

I felt sick. Everything hurt, and hearing the Grid crumble apart wasn't helping the ringing in my ears.

All I remembered was diving into the water and freezing. I was already in pain then. And now…

Where was I? I just hurt.

What…

I heard something, something that sounded like music. Had the watch activated or something? I was too exhausted to really care.

And then there was that weird growling noise. Almost purring. But cats… did I accidentally make one of those furballs? I always sneezed when I was around them, so I hoped not.

But something was still purring.

And my ears didn't like it.

Neither did my head, apparently. It was throbbing.

Pain… yay. Was this gonna become some normal thing? Feeling like this wasn't fun. But… wait, I forgot I was a screw up. So I kinda had it coming anyway.

The ground was shaking. But it wasn't… from the Grid's self destruction…

Footsteps.

Someone was coming. No. NO. NO, NO, NO, NO! They'd get hurt. They'd wind up derezzed.

They needed to leave.

Something touch my arm, which felt like fire already, and I guessed they were trying to be gentle, but it still hurt.

"Hey!"

That was… no! Not Skigh! No! Why was she here?! Everything was already falling apart… and since she was part program…

if the Grid died out, she probably would too…

And she was HERE.

HERE.

The hand on my arm disappeared. I flinched, half expecting a punch. Or maybe a kick. Or- oh, who cares?! I was just expecting to get hit!

"Who are-" Skigh stopped talking. I heard a disc activate and cringed. Okay, gonna die, gonna die, gonna die, gonna die-

"If you lay a hand on him…" the growling voice sounded defensive, then unsure as it said one last thing: "Alan-One?"

Oh, this was just great…

* * *

_-okay, that's done! Embers will be up in a week or so; still have to finish the cover for it…_

_thanks for all the reviews and support, guys! it means a lot :)_

_Embers is gonna be shorter than the other stories, but it will tie up the ending and i may or may not choke Alex in the process… ;)_

_a summary for Embers is on my profile- an updated one- so that'll have more information._

_and about the Isle of Swords/Isle of Fire fanfic i wrote- if anyone's interested, it's there. the books aren't the most well-known, but great just the same. let's just say there's a lot of pirates and a plot line that somewhat follows Star Wars with the whole evil father and good son thing... except the son has amnesia. compared to my stories so far, it's pretty short. but it's there if anyone wants to read it..._

_again, thanks for all the support, guys! :)_

_lyrics from Owl City "Dreams and Disasters"_


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